I have a developed a culinary creation, i would like to copyright the name but can i also patent it?

You cannot patent the name. Regarding culinary creations, see http://www.uspto.gov/custom-page/inventors-eye-advice-1.

No copyright in name - too short. The name may be appropriate subject matter for trademark protection - but that will require using the name in commerce in association with selling the food product. Before adopting any trademark you want to commission a clearance search to minimize nasty litigation surprises once you have adopted a trademark. As for patent protection ... Compositions claims of food products are likely to get section 101 subject matter eligibility rejections under the Mayo line of cases that may be fatal if all the ingredients occur in some form in nature, and certainly you'll get section 102 and 103 rejections (which may or may not be circumvented). The recipe might be claimed via method claims, which might avoid the 101 rejection, but you'll likely have to deal with 102 and 103 rejections (which is normal for us practitioner). In planning ahead to deal with the 103 rejection, you might want to think about if the combination of ingredients or method steps results in some unexpected result, some synergistic result wherein the sum is greater that the parts type of arguments, as such reasoning may be helpful at rebutting a prima facie obviousness rejection under section 103. And sometimes you can get creative and claim so form of unique packaging, with novel and non-obvious structure, that then may comprise your various ingredients. And aside from the technical issues of patent law, there is the economics to consider, i.e. going after patent protection may be expensive and not worth the level of protection you might receive, if a competitor may easily design around your potential patent, which is often the case with a food product. Lastly, copyright protection for the recipe - would be very thin, as copyright does not extend to factual content. So you are not likely to get too much protection there.

You may be able to establish a trademark for a name for the product, but not a copyright. The food product itself is very likely not patentable. A method of making the food product may be, but will be subject to all the usual obstacles to patentability. Speak with patent counsel in private to discuss your creation further.

You can trademark the name and copyright your expression of the recipe (but not the recipe itself). Courts have held that people are always combining different ingredients, so almost any combination of food ingredients will be found to be in patentable due to obviousness. If you bring this to market yourself, you could keep the ingredients as a trade secret. To protect the recipe as a trade secret, it must be disclosed only on a need to know basis and then only under a nondisclosure agreement. Physical and electronic security should be used to protect the information. This is how the recipes for Coca Cola and Thomas' English Muffins are protected.

If you intend to sell the creation, you can register a trademark in the name. You cannot copyright or patent a name. Also, except in very limited circumstances, you cannot patent a recipe.

As noted, the name is a trademark matter and of course that can be protected. Your trademark will be one of if not the most important and valuable business assets you will have and you will ultimately spend more money in support if it than you will anywhere else (advertising, marketing, PR, branding, packaging, etc.). So you owe it to your business and yourself to make sure you handle this properly upfront and the first order of business always starts with a proper and comprehensive clearance. Whenever you endeavor into investing in a trademark it is very important that you conduct the proper clearance due diligence upfront and before you start spending any money in support of it or submit an application to the USPTO. In the US, this means searching under both federal (USPTO) as well as common law because trademark rights stem from use in this country NOT registration. This means that acquiring a federal registration does not necessarily mean that you are not infringing on another's intellectual property. See the link below for a brief article from Fox Business News on the importance of the due diligence process and our overview guide. Regards to the patent, if what you have here is really just a recipe then it is likely not ripe for patent protection. If, however, you have invented something that transforms the food product or provides some other kind of tangible outcome, for example your process extends the shelf-life of the food item, then perhaps it is worth exploring. I suggest that you consult with a lawyer in private and discuss your objectives in more detail. You can start by calling around to several for a free phone consultation, get some insights then pick the best fit to work with. Best regards, Frank Natoli-Lapin, LLC I suggest that you consult with a lawyer in private and discuss your objectives in more detail. You can start by calling around to several for a free phone consultation, get some insights then pick the best fit to work with. Best regards, Frank Natoli-Lapin, LLC

The other attorneys have all ably answered your question. We are probably all assuming that you are talking about a recipe and not a unique type of packaging or an actual cookware item. So the answers have been geared towards a recipe/method of preparing. Go to the USPTO website for information on patenting recipes. The USPTO article also refers to trade secrets as a way to protect recipes. However, as the article points out, recipes are subject to reverse engineering so if someone independently figures out your recipe, you would be out-of luck in the sense you could not claim trade secret theft in a court of law. This is where branding (trademarks) could be exceedingly important -being the first and best to market so consumers associate your brand with the popular food product you initially created and not a newcomer. Trademark rights can be assigned and thus can be very monetarily valuable. Also, to get the benefits of any trade secret protection under the law should someone "steal" your recipe and not independently develop the recipe, you would have had to have taken numerous steps to ensure that your recipe is being treated and handled as a trade secret (e.g., limiting access to the "formula"). I would suggest defining the way you hope to commercialize this product and the steps involved. There may be more than one approach. Have this in place when you consult with an IP attorney so that IP protection approaches can be integrated with your commercialization objectives. Good luck!