I studied IP (Intellectual Property) in college when I got my degree in Computer and Information Science. And, I've worked with patent attorneys at large corporations. Put simply, unless you ACTIVELY protect your trademarks, service marks, patents, and copyrights - against ALL infringements - even if they aren't making any money from it - then you can lose them when you go after someone in court later. So, you have to prove that you have protected all along - not just when someone tries to make a buck from your hard work.
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The Law
I studied IP (Intellectual Property) in college when I got my degree in Computer and Information Science. And, I've worked with patent attorneys at large corporations. Put simply, unless you ACTIVELY protect your trademarks, service marks, patents, and copyrights - against ALL infringements - even if they aren't making any money from it - then you can lose them when you go after someone in court later. So, you have to prove that you have protected all along - not just when someone tries to make a buck from your hard work.