Intellectual property --protect your ideas
You've invented a new device, thought of a new process, developed a new method. This is intellectual property which needs to be protected in a technology transfer activity. Both Reclamation and the collaborator must practice good stewardship when creating and protecting intellectual propertyin the water and power management fields.
Intellectual property is the intangible assets of a company or organization, including Reclamation, related to technical know-how. This can include:
- Discoveries
- Inventions
- Designs
- Proprietary Information
- Works of Authorship and Software
Protection of this property against use by others can be obtained, depending on the kind of IP, through
- Patents
- Trademarks
- Copyrights
- Trade Secrets
Patents, trademarks, and copyrights are administered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Government agencies such as Reclamation can use both patents and trademarks for IP protection. However, works created by employees of the government cannot, except in rare instance, be copyrighted. In addition, the government cannot keep trade secrets. More about all of these protection mechanisms will be provided in later sections of these guidelines. The primary objective of this section is to provide information on how to best protect new innovations during the early stages of their development