Bruce Von Stiers
Have you ever wondered how easy it is to obtain a copyright for the story you wrote? How about having the cutesy little logo for your home business become a registered trademark? Well, there is a company that takes the extra work out of doing both of those things. The company is Official Software, LLC and they have a couple of products that will help out with copyrights and trademarks. The two products are Official Trademark and Official Copyright. The company markets them as separate products or together in a set. The set, which is what I evaluated, is called the Intellectual Property Suite.
With Official Copyright, you can register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright office. You can complete and print out U.S. Government Copyright Office forms through the program. There are links to the Copyright Office publications and reference material. And you can keep track of the registration numbers and correspondence with the Copyright Office.
Official Trademark allows you to register your Mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Like the Copyright program, you can complete and print out the forms needed by the government to register you trademark. There are links in the program to the various Patent Office publications and reference materials that you might need. And there is a section of the program that lets you manage your registration list and correspondence.
The two programs have basically the same user interface. The interface is called the Main Menu. There are four buttons at the top of the interface and four duplicate ones on the left side. These buttons are Intro, Search, Index and Account. Clicking on these buttons will bring move you into other areas of the program.
Although both programs have an Introduction, the information contained in each is slightly different. Both have basic information about what you can and cannot do with regard to registering a trademark or copyright. But as these are different elements, some of the information changes. In the Introduction to Trademark, you will find the topic "How do I establish Trademark rights?" In the Introduction to Basic Copyright Concepts, there is a topic titled "Why ideas are NOT protected by Copyright." Click on any topic listed in the Introduction section and you will be moved on to another screen that gives you information about that topic. As you scroll through the screens full of information about Copyrights or Trademarks, there are links to other areas of the program.
The Search area of the two programs has different parts as well. For the Trademark Search, you are asked to choose from one of three different forms that need to be submitted to the Trademark office. Form 1478 is used to register a trademark and 1581 is to request a time extension. Select one of these forms and click on the Continue button. You will then be moved through various informational screens until the program begins to have you fill out sections of the appropriate form. Did you know that a trademark can be rejected? The program gives you information about rejection or refusal of a trademark.
The Copyright Search area asks whether you want to search by Form or by Work. Searching by form brings up a topic list that includes forms for visual Art Works and Literary Works. Search By Works will bring up a listing of the various types of works that can be copyrighted. These are listed under headings like Literary Works, Computer Programs and Compilations. Each item has a link to a more detailed description. This description will have a link to the appropriate form to fill out for filing a copyright.
Both of the programs allow you to write a letter to the appropriate office. Clicking on a link to the Copyright fees brings up an informational box with phone numbers for the office and asking if you want to write a letter. Clicking on the Yes button will bring up a screen with your address information and headings to the appropriate office the letter needs to go to. From there you can type your letter and either print it out for mailing or faxing.
The Index button for both of the programs brings up lists of the various topics covered by them. In the Copyright Index you will find items like Cartoons and Comic Strips, Musical Compositions / Registration Of and others. The Index in Official Trademark has items like Trademark Law Treaty Implementation Act and Declaration of Incontestability.
The Registration button brings up a Registrations List. This has a list of the forms that have been filled out and the registration numbers. You can also click on the Correspondence button in the Registration section to bring up a list of the letters that have been written to either the Copyright office or Trademark office. You can start a new letter or change your mailing information in this area as well.
The programs have an individual list price of $ 69.95 U.S. The list price for the combined package is $ 99.95 U.S.
The system requirements for the programs aren't too extreme. You will only need a 486 PC with 16 MB of RAM to run the programs. A minor 16 MB of free hard drive space is needed and a video display of 640 x 480. You will also need to have Windows 96 or later on your computer.
If you have had any thoughts about copyrighting something you did or making sure nobody else uses a trademark you've established, then these programs from Official Software will really be helpful. They have all of the needed information about the government requirements for copyrights and trademarks. And if the information isn't available in the programs, they will show you how to obtain it. I would recommend Official Trademark and Official Copyright for anyone who is seriously considering registering their work with the US Government.
You will find the most current information about both of these products at the Official Software web site. The web site can be found at www.officialsoftware.com. You can also call them at 888 325 - 5445.
© 2002 Bruce E. Von Stiers