With the exception of trade secrets and know-how, each form of intellectual property can be protected via preparing and filing an application with the appropriate federal agency.
Although it is possible for the layperson to prepare a patent or trademark application, usually such an approach is not recommended, since the laws and procedures can be very complex and have changed frequently in recent years.
We typically strongly recommend utilizing competent legal counsel to prepare:
Copyright Applications can be prepared and filed by a layperson, yet clients frequently rely on us - perhaps due to our experience or relatively modest fees.