Follow the links provided to be taken to the USPTO home page. Follow their instructions for filing a patent and for more information on the processes, fees, and timelines.
What is the difference between a trademark, patent, copyright, and intellectual property? According to the USPTO:
Copyright: Artistic, literary, or intellectually created works, such as novels, music, movies, software code, photographs, and paintings that are original and exist in a tangible medium, such as paper, canvas, film, or digital format.
Trademark: any word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination of these things that identifies goods or services. It’s how customers recognize a business in the marketplace and distinguish themselves from competitors.
Patent: Technical inventions, such as chemical compositions like pharmaceutical drugs, mechanical processes like complex machinery, or machine designs that are new, unique, and usable in some type of industry. Please note that this guide will not go into great detail on Patents - you can find more information in our Patent Libguide.
Intellectual Property: Creations of the mind—creative works or ideas embodied in a form that can be shared or can enable others to recreate, emulate, or manufacture them. There are four ways to protect intellectual property: patents, trademarks, copyrights, and/or trade secrets.
Source: Trademark, patent, or copyright. United States Patent and Trademark Office - An Agency of the Department of Commerce. (2025, February 3). https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/trademark-patent-copyright
