Intellectual Property Homework Assignment
You are an entrepreneur and just started a new business in the restaurant industry. The business must
be hypothetical (made–up) for this assignment.
Please propose a plan for protecting your hypothetical intellectual property (IP). Your plan should
consist of the following information. Please keep in mind that you may find that some categories are
more applicable than others. This is perfectly acceptable as long as you analyze each category.
Trademark Protection: Start by demonstrating your understanding of what subject matter
trademark protects. Survey the subject matter that would receive trademark protection in your
hypothetical restaurant business.
Patent Protection: Explain what types of inventions are patent eligible. In your business,
explain whether you would have any items that would have patent protection. You may also
comment on whether you need to apply for a patent. Feel free to use your imagination in
thinking about potential inventions that may be applicable in a restaurant.
Copyright Protection: Generally, list the types of works that may receive copyright protection.
Survey the types of items in your business that may receive this protection, if any.
Trade Secret Protection: Demonstrate your understanding of trade secret protection. Would
this type of protection be applicable to your business? Why or why not? If applicable, describe
what steps your business might take to keep this protection.
Distinguish between the types of protections: Give a brief overview of your understanding of
how the above protections are different. Then discuss which type of protection is most
applicable to your business.
Before writing the essay, please review the videos in the IP module which can be found under the
following titles: Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks and Trade Secrets. If you research and use other
source(s) for this assignment, you must cite them in your paper.
The essay should be about one page and no more than two pages in length, single spaced. It must be
typed in 12 pt. Times New Roman.