What would be the point of creating, producing, or inventing something if another person can steal or market your idea or your company's trade secret? Author Rich Stim, a lawyer as well as a musician and author of creative works, offers this trusted, comprehensive resource. It's for creators, entrepreneurs, and business people to keep on their shelf for when they need understandable explanations of how U.S. laws on patents, copyrights, and trademark protect their work. The book provides not only basic legal overviews but detailed application filing instructions. A plain-English guide to intellectual property law Whether you are a creator or a business that deals in intellectual property, understanding the laws that govern your work is critical to success. Nolo's Patent, Copyright & Trademark is a comprehensive reference on the four branches of intellectual property law: Part 1: Patents Part 2: Copyrights Part 3: Trademarks Part 4: Trade Secrets Each part includes an overview, definitions, and forms for that branch of intellectual property. The overviews include concise explanations of the law and highlights of major developments in the law (court cases, legislation, regulations) since the previous edition.

The definitions make up an excellent glossary of intellectual property terms. The forms sections include helpful explanations of registration forms and many sample forms. The 18th edition is completely updated to include the latest Supreme Court decisions in intellectual property cases, new regulations and guidance from the USPTO and the Copyright Office, and the impact of AI on intellectual property law.