If you are doing business in Wyoming, you may have ideas you want to protect under Wyoming Intellectual Property Law. This protection allows you to reap the full benefits of your business concepts and prevents others from unfairly using them.

Intellectual property in Wyoming refers to ideas that are owned by you as an individual or as a company. Although your intellectual property is protected under intellectual property law from the moment you create it, register to create an official record of your ideas and more easily protect them should a conflict ever arise.

The 3 most common forms of intellectual property under Wyoming IP law are:

1. Trademark, for trade names or logos.

2. Copyright, for artistic works such as published work.

3. Patent, for unique inventions, dictated by intellectual property law in Wyoming.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose the best protection under intellectual property law in Wyoming

To protect your intellectual property, first decide what type it is. Trademarks refer to a name, phrase, or logo that identifies your business. It can include words only, a particular look or font or even a color scheme. A copyright protects the specific form in which your ideas are recorded and is used to protect literary and artistic works. Finally, patents protect your inventions and are used for physical devices or abstract concepts, such as computer software algorithms or business methods.

I recommend: Start with the Intellectual Property Center of FindLaw, which outlines the basics of intellectual property and offers a wide menu of topics to help you begin to register your intellectual property in Wyoming. The Intellectual Property Resource Center of Netpreneur is also an excellent resource for your initial research. Review the helpful information at the United States Patent and Trademark Office or the United States Copyright Office.

Register under intellectual property law in Wyoming to protect your business

Although intellectual property in Wyoming, in general, is registered at the federal level, you can also register trademarks at the state level. It is essential for your small business to patent your ideas or register your trademarks or copyrights. This allows your small business to access the full power of the courts in protecting your valuable assets.

I recommend: Check the Trademark Electronic Search System to ensure your proposed trademark is not registered, then register online through the Trademark Electronic Application System. For your copyright, register through the United States Copyright Office. Register your trademark or service mark at the state level through the Wyoming Secretary of the State's Office.

Let a lawyer guide you through Wyoming intellectual property law

It may be in your best interest to consult with intellectual patent attorneys in Wyoming for advice about protecting your intellectual property. Patent law in Wyoming, including Wyoming escrow laws, has nuances that are often best left to intellectual property law firms in Wyoming that are familiar with filing your type of technology.

I recommend: To find a Wyoming IP law firm, visit Lawyers.com or see Justia for a Wyoming intellectual property lawyer. Read the details of requirements of Wyoming law regarding trademarks through the Wyoming Legislative Service Office. Look up intellectual property law lawyers in Wyoming, or learn more information about WY intellectual property law at WyomingTrademark.com.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  To protect your business most effectively, form an intellectual property committee under the guidance of a Wyoming intellectual property attorney to categorize and address all of the intellectual property you have.
• •  Create an invention disclosure/submission procedure to capture the innovations created by your employees, and have your inventions reviewed by a patent attorney in Wyoming.