A company engaged in the design, manufacturing, and advertising of a computer modem will need to address a number of overlapping Intellectual Property (IP) law principles. Since the product is a form of an invention, it must be patented (United States Patent and Trademark Office, 2010). Patents protect the invention itself whereas a trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design or a combination of these elements that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods from one party to another (United States Patent and Trademark Office, 2010). The company manufacturing the model should obtain trademark protection for the logo or brand name that it will place on its modem.
A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work (United States Patent and Trademark Office, 2010). Assuming that the company creates a brochure or other materials describing their product and uses those materials in promotion, sales, or advertising, it may wish to obtain copyright protection to prevent other firms from using this material. While strictly speaking, a brochure describing the benefits of a computer modem might not be an artistic or literary work, it can be a work which is proprietary. Consequently, copyright protection for those materials that are likely to be used in advertising is sometimes recommended.
Perhaps more specifically, if a firm uses a phrase such as Nike's "just do it" it might wish to obtain a trademark to protect the use of this phrase. The modem manufacturer may wish to augment copyright protections for such phrases with trademark protection, particularly in the case of materials that will be used in advertising. The highly competitive environment in which technological products are positioned strongly supports the conclusion that any and all available legal protections should be obtained to enhance one's competitive position and to prevent others from simply copying such items and making use of them.