To trademark intellectual property you should begin by ensuring that the property you wish to trademark is eligible for trademark protection, rather than another form of protection. You can then perform a trademark search in your country to make sure no one else already owns what you are trying to trademark. Once you do this, you can begin to trademark your particular intellectual property by using it in a professional way that associates it with your business. To trademark intellectual property officially, you can then register your trademark with an appropriate government agency in your country.
One of the first steps you should take before you begin to trademark intellectual property of any kind is to ensure that trademark protection is appropriate for your situation. A trademark is established to protect a name, logo, or phrase that you wish to associate with a business you are running. Trademark protection is not used for inventions or mechanical designs, those are patents, nor is it for creative works such as short stories or musical compositions, which are protected by copyrights. You can trademark intellectual property as long as you are going to be using that property in association with some form of business.
It is then a good idea to perform a trademark search before you begin trying to trademark intellectual property. This will allow you to ensure that a similar business to yours is not already using the phrase or name that you wish to use; if someone else already has it trademarked, then you will need to choose a different name or image. You typically only need to worry about a business that offers the same types of products or services that you do, so a company with the same name that makes completely different products may not be a problem. A trademark search can be done via the government agency that handles trademarks in your country, often through a search utility offered on the agency’s website.
Once you know that no one else owns the content you wish to protect, you can then begin using the name or term you wish to trademark. This begins to trademark intellectual property for you, though you may want to register your trademark for further protection. Registration can be done by filling out any necessary paperwork, paying a fee, and filing the paperwork required to register a trademark in your country. The office that handles trademarks in your country will also be able to assist you in establishing an international trademark, if necessary, as well.
