The first thing you need to do is a search. Do both patents and trademarks.
The second thing you need to do is use it. It is first to file, but also first to use. If not used within 5 years, it is invalid.
You can use the patent office site to do your searches. Just click on searches.
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The first thing you need to do is a search. Do both patents and trademarks.
The second thing you need to do is use it. It is first to file, but also first to use. If not used within 5 years, it is invalid.
You can use the patent office site to do your searches. Just click on searches.
http://www.uspto.gov/#

Or you can pay someone to do the search for you. Perhaps here.
http://www.4trademark.com
I do not know if they are good or not.

I have more confidence in this.
http://www.legalzoom.com/trade...

Eventually you will want to hire a patent attorney. And that is big bucks. The main problem in having an idea like this, is that you have to have expertise in all the aspects of manufacturing, law and business. And all the steps along the way. Practically nobody does.
During my days as a financial analyst, I saw many good ideas go under for not taking the right steps at the right time.
I wish you luck.

http://www.uspto.gov/#

The US Patents and Trademark office. Its everything you need to know! Good luck with your venture!

Do I need a patent, trademark, or copyright?

One of the most common questions that a newbie inventor has to ask is, "What Do I need? Do I need a patent, trademark, or copyright?" These are the three different types of what is called intellectual property. These are products that come from the creative mind. Intellectual property is imagination made real. Intellectual property is an asset just like your hom...

Do I need a patent, trademark, or copyright?

One of the most common questions that a newbie inventor has to ask is, "What Do I need? Do I need a patent, trademark, or copyright?" These are the three different types of what is called intellectual property. These are products that come from the creative mind. Intellectual property is imagination made real. Intellectual property is an asset just like your home, your car, or your bank account and there are ways to protect and profit from intellectual property by using a patent, trademark, or copyright.

For detailed info. Pease refer to:
http://inventors.about.com/od/...

(Please Do not miss to read the above link as you will get complete answer what is required to you.)


Lesson One: Understanding Intellectual Property
Introduction - About These Lessons

Patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets are " intellectual property " - referring to products that come from the creative mind. Intellectual property is imagination made real. Intellectual property is an asset just like your home, your car, or your bank account.

Just like other kinds of property, intellectual property needs protection from theft and misuse and you can profit from it. Some people confuse patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Although there may be some similarities among these kinds of intellectual property protection, they are different and serve different purposes.

Patents
A patent gives an inventor the right to exclude all others from making, using, importing, selling or offering to sell his/her invention for up to 20 years without the inventor's permission.

This gives the inventor the opportunity to produce and market his/her idea, or license others to do so, and to make a profit.

In the U.S., a patent is issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office or USPTO after reviewing a patent application. A United States patent only protects and provides exclusive rights in the United States. Similar patent protection is offered in other countries.

One thing to remember is even if you are issued a patent if someone else has had a patent issued for the same invention before you - your patent rights could be contested or you could contest a patent issued after yours that infringes on your invention. That is called patent infringement and inventors sometimes have to go to court to settle disputes and damages. One way to avoid this is to do a very complete prior art search - more about prior art and patent searching later.

Trademarks
Trademarks protect words, names, symbols, sounds, or colors that distinguish goods and services. Trademarks, unlike patents, can be renewed forever as long as they are being used in business. The roar of the MGM lion, the pink of the insulation made by Owens-Corning (who uses the Pink Panther in advertising by permission from its owner!), and the shape of a Coca-Cola bottle are familiar trademarks. These are brand names and identities and are important in marketing a product or service.

You can register a trademark or claim common law use (no official registration). Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark.

Copyrights
Copyrights protect works of authorship, such as writings, music, and works of art that have been tangibly expressed. In the United States the Library of Congress registers copyrights, which last for the life of the author plus 70 years. Gone With The Wind (the book and film), Back Street Boys' recordings, and video games are all works that are copyrighted. Only the copyright holder can reproduce or profit from his/her works or transfer those rights.

Trade Secrets
Trade secrets are information that companies keep secret to give them an advantage over their competitors. The formula for Coca-Cola is the most famous trade secret.

The above should give you a basic understanding of the different types of intellectual property. The rest of these lessons will be concerned with the intellectual property of patents only - since patents are what protect inventions.
Continue With > Lesson 2: Patents & Inventions.. Please log in to:
http://inventors.about.com/od/...

Do I Need To Hire A Lawyer:
Filing a patent application is very hard and complex. Filing a trademark application is not easy. Filing for copyright protection is the easiest. Patent offices will not assist you in the preparation of applications, however, they do provide you with some instruction and guides. If you are ready conduct any intellectual property activity as a beginner you are strongly advised to contact a registered patent attorney or agent.

I wish you very Good Luck with your new idea and product.

First, it sounds like you are not really seeking trademark protection. Trademarks are primarily intended to prevent consumer confusion regarding the source of the product. For example, if someone saw your idea (let's call it Bob's Flooring), and made the exact same product, but instead called it Jack's Flooring, then there would be no trademark infringement. So unless some manufacturer out there is trying to use your company name or product name, trademark registration won't offer you any protection.
...

First, it sounds like you are not really seeking trademark protection. Trademarks are primarily intended to prevent consumer confusion regarding the source of the product. For example, if someone saw your idea (let's call it Bob's Flooring), and made the exact same product, but instead called it Jack's Flooring, then there would be no trademark infringement. So unless some manufacturer out there is trying to use your company name or product name, trademark registration won't offer you any protection.

What you are really looking for is the right to prevent other people from making the same product for that particular use. There are two ways to do this: trade secret, and patents. A trade secret is something that you don't register, and you keep under wraps. The Coke formula is the most common example. Patent protection, on the other hand, means you qualify under five different categories (for example, novelty), and your patent can be specific to a certain use. So, what you could patent is the specific use of that flooring, not all uses of that flooring. By registering your invention with the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office (or in this case, your novel use), and assuming you are actually granted a patent, you earn the right to use that product in that way exclusively for 25 years. (Or, through licensing, you can charge other people for the right to use flooring in that same way). After 25 years, anyone can use it. On the other hand, if you keep it a trade secret, you can use it forever, until someone finds out how to duplicate what you've done.

If you want to go the patent route, you should get an attorney who specializes in patents. Although a patent attorney may be a considerable expense for a new company, if you truly believe in your invention, it is worth the expense. An improperly filed patent application is, for all intents and purposes, uncorrectable.

Trademark is a complicated area of law, and we can't give you all the answers. We can, however, provide you with the procedure for registering your very own federal trademark and explain some of the legal issues around doing so. The lawyers will allow us to do this, and they probably won't bother you, either, unless you infringe on one of their clients' trademarks. Then it's back to the pointy sticks.

...

Trademark is a complicated area of law, and we can't give you all the answers. We can, however, provide you with the procedure for registering your very own federal trademark and explain some of the legal issues around doing so. The lawyers will allow us to do this, and they probably won't bother you, either, unless you infringe on one of their clients' trademarks. Then it's back to the pointy sticks.

By the way, we warn you ahead of time that the trademark search is by far the worst part of registering a trademark. Once the search is over, it's pretty much clear sailing. Don't give up just because the search seems daunting.

1) LEARN WHAT A TRADEMARK IS
Before we burst into song about trademark law (and it's awfully tempting), you should know about the three different types of protection that exist whenever you want to protect an idea you came up with:
A Trademark
A Patent
A Copyright

2. PERFORM A TRADEMARK SEARCH
The first thing to do is go to the USPTO's database of federally registered trademarks and conduct a search of the word or phrase you intend to use, or of words or phrases which describe the symbol or design you intend to use.
http://www.uspto.gov/go/tac/do...

3. COMPLETE THE FEDERAL TRADEMARK APPLICATION FORM
Once you're content with your trademark search and you feel confident that you can use the trademark you want without infringing on anyone else's rights, it gets easy. It's easy, but it costs money (no avoiding this) and the application won't be processed for a long time. There are two types of application you can file The first is the "use" application, which is the one you complete if you have already begun using the trademark in commerce The second is the "intent-to-use" application, which you complete if you have not yet used the trademark but you have a genuine intent to use it.

4. FOLLOW UP THE APPLICATION
It can take up to nine months from the time you send in the application to the time your registration is official and complete. During that time, and afterward, there are follow-up actions you must perform, which vary depending on whether you filled out a "use" application or an "intent-to-use" application

5. IF IN DOUBT, CONSULT AN ATTORNEY

You can take a clear look of the step by step process on http://www.soyouwanna.com/site...

I would prefer to go through this site to have a clear picture of protecting my product from stealing.
http://inventors.about.com/od/...

first of all dude don't tell people what your doing on this site, geez, and dude I have some pretty darn good stuff myself also, but being a artists contributes to that, it's good to get a small patent company there greedy for new people, they'll give anything to have a new person choose their company over a big corp. they apprieciate that, and acknowledge this and tell them your idea and be thorough, they may be small but they know what they are doing, I don't have any suggestions toward who, but it's good that you hav...

first of all dude don't tell people what your doing on this site, geez, and dude I have some pretty darn good stuff myself also, but being a artists contributes to that, it's good to get a small patent company there greedy for new people, they'll give anything to have a new person choose their company over a big corp. they apprieciate that, and acknowledge this and tell them your idea and be thorough, they may be small but they know what they are doing, I don't have any suggestions toward who, but it's good that you have your own company, make it sound big to them though, I have my own marketer but he only works for certain people, sorry man, but take this into consideration, trust me it'll help, talk to you later, the other guy has some good ideas to, add our ideas together you got one wicked awesome chance. the reason you should go for small for big is just this, big means pride and no care. small, well you know.