Copyright & Trademark · AI Software Builders: MakerAI

As I stated in a previous post, I'm going to copyright and trademark my work. I put so many hours into my project and didn't want anyone to steal it. However, I learned a few things and wanted to share with the group.

Copyright protects your content, like text, graphics, and the way you present things. It does not protect the underlying idea or concept of your product.

Trademark protects your name and logo, so someone can’t use “Product Name” or a confusingly similar brand. But it does not prevent someone from building a similar website or service under a different name.

In short: there is no legal tool in the U.S. that stops someone from copying your idea itself. Ideas are free — what’s protected is the expression of that idea (the content, branding, and original graphics).

The safest ways to protect your concept are:

Move fast and build your audience — first-mover advantage makes it hard for copycats to compete.

Keep proprietary methods secret (trade secrets) — e.g., your curated database methods, scraping process, or API integrations.

Use copyright/trademark for the content, brand, and visuals — so your work itself is protected.

You can think of it like this: anyone can have an idea, but only you can legally own your product’s content, logo, and brand.

Costs for copyright ranges $45-$65.

https://www.copyright.gov/eco/

Costs for trademark ranges $350+.

https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/apply

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