Intellectual properties protected by copyright are literary, artistic and musical works such as books, plays, films, videos, photographs, paintings, sculpture, choreography, music, and computer software. Intellectual properties protected as trademarks are words, phrases, and symbols used to represent a business or product. Examples of trademarked properties are the name “Coca-Cola” for use with carbonated beverages and McDonald’s golden arches logo for use with restaurants. A license is an agreement to use the trademarked and copyrighted works, trademarks or other intellectual properties owned by someone else. An example of a licensed property is Monopoly Game Star Wars, for which board game maker Hasbro licensed from Lucasfilm the use of copyrighted images of Star Wars characters and the trademarked name “Star Wars”.

About licensed work in terms of copyright

A license is a permission from the owner of a copyright to do those things that are otherwise excluded. A licensed copyrighted property refers to a work that is copyrighted and is licensed. Licensed mean that you have permission to use someone else’s work. A licensed mark is created when a trademark’s owner gives someone else a temporary right to use the mark for a specific purpose. The contract for the licensed mark usually includes whether the license is exclusive or nonexclusive and will stipulate restrictions, such as geographic regions where the mark can be used and the types of product that can be marketed under the same mark. The contract will specify how long the license is for and situations in which the license can be ended early.
A licensed mark agreement can sometimes be so similar to a franchise agreement that a court will find that the contract created a franchise relationship, resulting in added laws and regulations that must be followed. Franchise agreements involve the right to use a trademark, paying the owner royalties and other fees, and the owner significantly controlling and/or helping the licensee run his business. To avoid this, the contract should stipulate that the owner exerts only enough control to maintain his trademark rights and not over the entire business. The contract should stipulate that inventory won’t be purchased above wholesale prices; if royalties are not to be paid, this should also be written out clearly. Because the rules are tricky, it may be helpful to have an online legal document service or attorney draft the licensing contract to ensure maximum protection and clarity.

About trademarked work

The purpose of a trademark is to protect consumers from confusion when they’re purchasing goods or services. You don’t want someone buying a product that they think is yours because the logo is similar, only to discover it’s of lesser quality. Confusion like this can hurt the customer and hurt your product’s value. A trademark protects any mark that identifies your product or service. The mark can be a logo, a name, a phrase or something similar. If you use an original trademark in commerce, you’ll automatically have rights to that mark in your region. However, registering your mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will give you greater protection, along with eligibility for more damages if you sue someone for infringement.

A trademark is a legal right to exclude others from using the trademark as a designation of origin. A trademark then serves as an indication of origin, as only the trademark owner (and their licensees, under some circumstances) would use that trademark in connection with goods or services. Usually, when advertising, one would want to associate the trademark, so that advertisement viewers will know what product/service they should ask for. If you see something and you instantly know where it came from, that’s probably a trademark. If you see someone walking down the street in the U.S. with a particular color of short-sleeve shirt, you might assume they work for a particular parcel.

About copyrighted work

A copyrighted work is a work of authorship in which someone (a person or an entity) owns the copyright. The owner of the copyright gets to exclude others from making copies, doing public performances, and other acts. Copyrights can be sorted for authors, artists, choreographers, architects, and other creative professionals. While an idea cannot be copyrighted, the tangible form of idea can be. This includes original works of authorship, photographs, sculptures, choreography, architectural work, sound recording, motion pictures etc. Copyrights require no publication or registration with the U.S. Copyright Office, but there are advantages of doing so. To register your piece, you can file an original claim to the U.S. Copyright Office by completing an online registration or filling out the “Form CO.” Copyrights do not cover titles, names, phrases or slogans, symbols, designs, ideas, procedures, methods, concepts or discoveries. A copyright’s protection generally lasts for the life of the author(s) plus 70 years.