Five IP claims meet one skeptical duck.
By Markling · Published 1 September 2026 · 7 minute read
“I registered the company name. The trademark is mine.”
Company registration and trademark registration do different jobs. Entry on a company register can let you trade under a name, but it does not automatically give you registered trademark protection for that name.
Depending on the country, trademark rights may also arise through use. That is still different from assuming the company register has cleared the brand for use or given it trademark protection. A conflicting earlier mark may already exist.
“No © symbol? Free to use.”
Copyright protection is generally automatic when an original work is created. The © symbol is usually optional. It signals that rights are claimed, but it is not the switch that creates them.
A photograph, illustration, article, song or piece of code can be protected even if it carries no notice at all. Before reusing it, look for a licence, get permission or check whether a legal exception applies in the relevant country.
“I have an idea. I can patent it.”
Patents protect qualifying inventions, not ideas still floating in the pond. The invention must satisfy legal tests that commonly include novelty, inventive step or non-obviousness, industrial applicability or usefulness, and sufficient disclosure.
Timing matters too. Public disclosure before filing can destroy novelty in many countries. Some systems have limited grace periods, but relying on one can narrow your options and create risk.
“We signed an NDA. The secret is safe.”
An NDA helps, but it's not a force field. Trade secret protection generally also requires the information to be genuinely secret, commercially valuable because it is secret and protected through reasonable steps. What counts as reasonable depends on the circumstances: access limits, confidentiality labels, staff training, security controls and careful offboarding can matter just as much as the contract.
“I filed internationally. I am protected everywhere.”
There is no single worldwide trademark registration. Trademark rights are territorial and tied to the goods and services covered by the registration.
The Madrid System makes it easier to seek protection in selected member territories through one international application. Each designated territory still applies its own law and decides whether protection is granted there.
IP Mythbusters FAQ
Does registering a company name give trademark protection?
No. Some unregistered trademark rights can arise through use in certain countries, but company registration does not automatically create registered trademark rights.
Is copyright automatic?
Generally, yes. Copyright usually begins when an original work is created. Registration can still provide important procedural or evidentiary benefits in some countries.
Can an idea be patented?
Not by itself. You need a qualifying invention that meets the patentability and disclosure requirements of the relevant law.
Does an NDA create a trade secret?
No. It can be one reasonable step, but secrecy, value because of secrecy and a wider protection system are also required.
Is there a worldwide trademark?
No. International systems simplify filing and administration, but the resulting protection remains territorial.
Fact-check deck
Primary guidance behind the verdicts. The summaries above are general information and the exact rule depends on the jurisdiction and facts.