Hundreds of thousands of people apply for patents, copyrights, and trademarks in the United States every year. For example, the United States Patent and Trademark office reports that 452,633 patent applications were filed in 2006. You can easily become one of these people if you have created the greatest American invention, if you are the next Stephen King and have written a book to prove it, or if you have designed an eye-catching logo for your company. This guide will provide you with all the information you need to know about acquiring, registering, maintaining, and protecting your intellectual property. A patent is a grant of property rights to the inventor and essentially excludes others from making, using, and selling your invention, whereas a trademark is a word, symbol, or device used to indicate the source of goods and to distinguish your goods from those of others. A copyright, on the other hand, protects original works and the form of the expression rather than the subject matter. This exhaustively researched book will help you decide which of the three you need to apply for, as well as which things can be patented, trademarked, and copyrighted and which cannot. In this book, you will learn how to file an application, how to register, how to avoid infringement, and how to avoid common problems. Additionally, you will become knowledgeable about where to file; the fees involved; laws and regulations associated with the process; the differences between copyrights, trademarks, and patents; the differences between utility, design, and plant patents; who may apply; attorneys and agents; and the forms you need to fill out. Whether you are applying for a patent, copyright, or trademark, this book will provide you with all the necessary information necessary to do so. This is the only book you need to read if you want to protect your intellectual property.