Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks For Dummies

This book is made for the young entrepreneur (or any beginner) who is interested in learning about do's and dont's when applying for patents. It also provides huge depth in understanding how copyrights and trademarks can be used to further assist you if patents are too expensive for your needs. This book provides realistic figures to expect when patenting or using one of the other alternatives. It even covers foreign patenting as well. Overall, I think this makes for an excellent reference book whenever you start to think about starting a business or creating a product. Keep in mind that this book does not really tell you about how to go about marketing your product. It is specialized in explaining what patents, copyrights, and trademarks are, and how to utilize them to protect your IP.

Easy to follow, very informative. Little boring but not exactly expecting a thriller from a copyright trademark book lol.

I knew I would probably need a lawyer to pursue a utility patent, and I wanted to be at least a little educated before I went to find one. Excellent source for describing the processes involved in obtaining IP protections for the completely ignorant, such as myself. I also believe that with the knowledge I gained from this book, I should be able to pursue the other IP protections I might desire, on my own. Maybe I'm just too picky, but the use of personal pronouns were distracting to me, Instead of using he/she his/her etc, why not just use they/ them?

One reviewer said there was not enough given information and the book was a lead to lawyer services. That is not true, the book is worth the time for many serious business owners or product producers. I am a playwright and needed to know more about copyrights for my books and trademark for my author signifier. I think the best time to read this book is before you produce, sign, or pretty much leave your stoop into the business world. This book has many vivid examples. I may assume under free speech one does not need permission from all these companies to talk about the nature of their very names. The book gives a lot of examples you will remember for the safety of preserving your IP, whatever it may be. I wish the book could be longer, I think there is more to wring out, maybe more examples and explications of legal steps in laymen's terms. Speaking of laymen's terms, this book is hilarious. Here are some quotes I highlighted on my tablet. "When you misuse your teddy bear to beat your little sister, your mom confiscates the bear. The rules haven’t changed with regard to IP rights." "A milk route customer list is no trade secret if all your competitor has to do is follow your truck." “Bob, fix me a cup of coffee. And while you’re at it, write me a computer program.” "We hardly can believe it. The Copyright Office is entering the digital era —though very slowly." This was a fun book for the slightly unfun philosphy fencing of idea ownership. Thank you, Dummies, and author Buchaca. Au revoir, Mr. Bohemian

Wow! A truly useful book which helped me navigate the U.S.P.T.O website with much more confidence. The CD in the back of the book has a treasure full of great files, forms, and documents to guide one to an eventual patent. Finding other helpful resources on patents, copyrights, and trademarks is also in this book. I recommend this publication to anyone who wants to learn how the patenting process really works. Thanks to Henri Charmasson and John Buchaca for such an amazing job in compiling this book. Kudos!!!

Patents, Copyrights & Trademarks for Dummies is an easy-to-read primer on intellectual property law. It is written by attorneys but it is intended for a general audience. The goal of the authors is to advise a reader who has an invention or creation that he wants to protect from unauthorized copying. The book describes the three main branches of intellectual property protection: patents, copyrights and trademarks. It explains the uses and advantages of each form of protection and may assist a reader in choosing the appropriate form of protection for his creation. However, the utility of the books ends there. This is not a how-to or do-it-yourself guide that would assist the reader in filing his own patent. Instead, the authors insist that the reader hire an IP professional (attorney) to do most of the work. Almost every other paragraph admonishes the reader not to try to do anything on his own. The book does not provide enough detailed information about the procedures to enable the reader to do anything, himself. So, if you are looking for a book that will help you to file for IP protection, without the expense of a lawyer, look elsewhere. However, if you are seeking an overview of IP law and process, then this may be a good book for you. It will help you to understand the process so that you can work more efficiently with your lawyer.

Very useful and informative. A must-read if you are planning to copyright or trademark. Helps you from making major mistakes and wasting money.

It's an easy read. It also gives you direct information so BS.