The four tools, side by side
| Patent | Trade Secret | Trademark | Copyright | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protects | How an invention works: devices, systems, methods, designs | Valuable information kept secret: processes, formulas, data, know-how | Brand identifiers: names, logos, slogans | Original expression: code, text, images, audio, video |
| How you get it | Apply to the USPTO; examination takes years | No filing; exists while you take reasonable secrecy measures | Rights from use; federal registration strengthens them | Automatic on creation; registration enables lawsuits and damages |
| Typical cost with me | $3,500 to $12,500+ attorney fee, plus USPTO fees | Audit and policies; often the cheapest real protection | $1,150 attorney fee per registration, plus $350/class USPTO | $250 attorney fee per work, plus Office fee |
| How long it lasts | About 20 years from filing (15 for designs) | Forever, until it leaks or is independently discovered | Indefinitely, with use and renewals | Decades (life of author plus 70 years, or 95 for company works) |
| Fails when | You disclosed too early, described too little, or the invention was obvious | Secrecy measures were weak, or the product reveals the secret | The name was too descriptive or someone else got there first | You only own the exact expression; ideas and functionality are free to copy |
A five-question path to your answer
Is it how something works, or what something says or looks like?
Functionality points to patents or trade secrets. Expression points to copyright. Identity points to trademarks. Most real products have more than one layer: an app might have patentable methods, copyrighted code and UI art, a trademarked name, and trade-secret algorithms all at once.
Could a competitor figure it out from the product itself?
If yes, secrecy will not survive shipping, and a patent is the only way to own the functionality. If the valuable part stays invisible (a backend process, a formula, a dataset), a trade secret can protect it indefinitely for the cost of discipline.
Have you already told people?
Public disclosure starts a one-year clock on U.S. patent rights and can destroy foreign rights immediately. It also ends trade secret status for whatever was shared. If you have disclosed, sequence matters: talk to a patent attorney before the year runs.
What would hurt most if copied?
Protect against the copy that actually threatens the business. Consumer products usually fear look-alikes: design patents plus trademarks. SaaS companies usually fear feature clones and team departures: utility patents plus trade secrets plus airtight IP assignments.
What does the budget honestly allow?
There is a defensible move at almost every budget: ownership paperwork and secrecy measures cost hundreds, trademark registration around $1,500 all-in, a provisional patent $3,500 to $5,000 plus fees. The expensive mistake is spending nothing while telling everyone everything.
Common combinations that work
The bootstrapped inventor: a well-drafted provisional now, disciplined secrecy on the parts that stay invisible, and a trademark search before naming. The launching brand: trademark registration, design patent on the product's look, copyright registration on the site and content. The SaaS startup: IP assignments from every contributor first, then utility patent strategy on the differentiating method, trade secret program on models and data, and a registered mark. The business adopting AI: an AI use policy before an employee pastes the secret sauce into a public chatbot.
This guide is general information, not legal advice for your situation; the right answer depends on facts a page cannot know. The fastest way to a real answer is the free 15-minute call.