Six Weapons: The Right Lock for Each Asset
The code you write, the name you choose, the algorithm you invent, the article you publish—in law these are completely different things, each with its own lock. The wrong lock is no lock. This lesson names all six weapons at once; every later lesson comes back to them.
™Trademark
Protects the brand name and logo—the brand’s only lawful “household registration.” Register by goods and services class; one registration per class.
Renew every ten years; theoretically indefinite⚙Patent
Protects a technical solution. The logic is protection in exchange for disclosure: publish the solution for society, get a statutory exclusive term in return.
Invention 20 yrs · utility model 10 yrs · design patent 15 yrs</>Software copyright
Copyright’s registration form in software. Rights arise when development is complete; the registration certificate is preliminary proof for enforcement. Low barrier—a must for OPC.
Corporate works protected 50 years✎Copyright
Protects original text, images, code, audio/video. Arises automatically on creation—no registration required. But proactive copyright recordation upgrades your enforcement position.
Arises automatically; recordation is a boost🔒Trade secret
Protects undisclosed technical know-how: core formulas, processes, algorithms. Opposite of patents—protection in exchange for secrecy.
Valid as long as you can keep it secret@Domain name
A brand’s core digital asset—first come, first served, renewed yearly. Not traditional IP, but its weight in business practice is anything but light.
First come, first served; renew yearlyThe term of an invention patent right is twenty years, of a utility model patent right ten years, and of a design patent right fifteen years, all counted from the filing date.
For the purposes of this Law, “trade secret” means technical information, business information, and other commercial information that is not known to the public, has commercial value, and for which the right holder has taken corresponding confidentiality measures.
Note the three elements of a trade secret: not known to the public, commercial value, and confidentiality measures you actually took. The third is where people crash hardest. No NDA, a repo open to everyone, a formula taped on the wall—legally that isn’t a trade secret, and when something goes wrong there’s nothing to recover.
Six assets you’ll meet most often on the startup path. Tap each one and see which lock it needs. A few answers won’t match your gut.
Because these six locks cannot substitute for each other. A registered trademark won’t stop someone from copying your code wholesale. Software copyright registration won’t stop someone from implementing the same technical solution in totally different code—that’s what patents cover. File a patent and the solution is public; the part you hoped to win with secrecy is exposed instead.
So the right move is inventory: list the assets you hold, and ask one by one who covers them. Every later lesson in this course unpacks how each lock works: how to get a trademark, what to do when you’re blocked, how to negotiate domains, how to register software copyright, how to choose between patent and trade secret.
- Trademark first: register the core classes; cost is on the order of a few hundred yuan per class—do it at naming time.
- Software copyright next: if the product has code, register it. Cheap, simple process—the certificate most often asked for in enforcement and fundraising.
- Normalize copyright recordation: for core articles, design comps, and video, make pre-publish recordation a habit.
- Lock the main domain extensions: a few hundred yuan a year buys not being held ransom later.
- Patents only if the tech warrants it: file when you have a real solution; don’t force one if you don’t.
Trade-secret protection is the only one of the six locks that costs no registration fee—but costs management effort.
- When contracting outsourcers or partners, include confidentiality clauses—the minimum bar for “confidentiality measures taken.”
- Set permissions on core code repos; don’t put core logic in a public repo.
- Prompts, data mixes, routing strategies—AI-era know-how—still need all three trade-secret elements.
The six locks cannot substitute for each other. Trademark locks the name, patent locks the solution, software copyright and copyright lock expression, trade secret locks know-how, domain name locks the entry point.
Copyright arises automatically; everything else you must do yourself. Automatic isn’t the same as easy to enforce—recordation and registration buy evidence.
Trade secrets require confidentiality measures you take first. Know-how without an NDA isn’t a secret in law.
Inventory first, then assign locks. List assets and ask who covers each—that’s the method for the whole course.
Legal sources: Patent Law of the People's Republic of China (2020 Amendment, effective June 1, 2021), Article 42—full text on the CNIPA website; Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China (revised June 27, 2025, effective October 15, 2025), Article 10; Regulations on Computer Software Protection (2013 Revision), Article 14: software copyright arises on the date development is complete; corporate works are protected for 50 years. Lesson verified 2026-08-10.