Trademark, copyright, patent – people use the words interchangeably, but they protect completely different things. Here’s the plain-language map so you can tell which one your work actually needs (often it’s more than one).
Your brand name is the thing customers actually remember – and the thing a competitor can quietly copy. Here’s how to lock it down with a federal trademark, step by step, in plain language.
You probably already own a trademark – the law hands you common-law rights the moment you start selling under a name. So why does everyone say to register? Here’s the honest trade-off, in plain language.
Before you print the merch or buy the domain, spend an hour making sure your brand name is actually free to use. Here’s how to run a real trademark search – for free – and read the results like a pro.
Short answer: sometimes. A slogan, hashtag, or catchphrase can be trademarked – but only if it does one specific job for your brand. Here’s the plain-language rule, plus the two traps that sink most applications.
Someone reposted your work without permission. A DMCA takedown is the free, do-it-yourself tool that can get it removed – if you send the right notice to the right place. Here’s exactly how, and where it hits its limits.
You found your work reposted, repackaged, or resold without permission. Before you fire off an angry message, here’s the calm, ordered playbook: document, diagnose, and climb the enforcement ladder one rung at a time.
Your video vanished behind a copyright claim you know is wrong. A DMCA counter-notice can get it back – but it’s a sworn legal statement with real strings attached. Here’s when to file, how, and when to think twice.
You paid the artist, so you own the art – right? Usually not. Copyright almost always stays with the creator unless a signed contract says otherwise. Here’s the difference between work-for-hire, an assignment, and a license, and what ‘I paid for it’ really buys you.
You don’t need a lawyer’s boilerplate to license your work – you need one clear page. Here are the seven building blocks of a simple licensing agreement, a plain-language grant-of-rights sentence, and a fill-in-the-blank template you can copy today.