A founder's primer on trademarks, copyright and trade secrets
Trademarks protect your name, copyright protects your creative work and trade secrets protect what you keep private. Most companies need all three.
Three tools, three jobs
Founders often use the words interchangeably, but each form of protection answers a different question. Who can use your name? Who can copy your work? Who can learn your methods? Mixing them up leads to gaps that are expensive to close later.
| Protection | What it covers | How it starts |
|---|---|---|
| Trademark | Names, logos, slogans | Use in commerce, stronger with federal registration |
| Copyright | Code, writing, designs, photos | Automatic on creation, registration helps enforcement |
| Trade secret | Recipes, processes, customer data | Reasonable steps to keep it confidential |
A simple order of operations
- Run a clearance search on your company and product names.
- File federal trademark applications for the names you will build on.
- Collect signed IP assignments from founders, employees and contractors.
- Label confidential material and limit who can access it.
"If a contractor built it and nobody signed an assignment, you may not own it."
The contractor gap
The most common problem we see is simple: a freelancer designed the logo or wrote the first version of the software, and no written assignment exists. It is usually fixable, and much easier to fix before an investor or buyer asks.
Common questions
Yes. Forming an entity registers a business name with the state, but it does not give you trademark rights across the country.
Ideas alone are hard to protect. The expression of an idea, a brand name or a confidential process can be protected.
Federal applications commonly take a year or more from filing to registration, which is why early filing matters.
Julian Pruitt
Julian advises owners across the Charlotte region on contracts, formations and deals. This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation.
About Julian
