Intellectual Property 2
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Is there any way to protect ideas?
You may be able to protect your ideas with patent or trade secret laws, which are explained later in this chapter.
Can I copyright my business or product name?
A name cannot be protected by copyright. You may be able to protect your name as a trademark, however. And you may have rights protecting your unique business name as a "trade name."
What can be copyrighted?
The copyright law covers "original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium of expression." Among the types of works that can be covered by copyright are:
- literary works
- computer programs, which are classified as literary works under the copyright laws
- musical works, including accompanying words
- dramatic works, including accompanying music
- pantomimes and choreographic works
- pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
- motion pictures and other audiovisual works
- sound recordings
How do I get a copyright?
Under copyright laws in the United States, work created on or after March 1, 1989, is automatically copyrighted the moment you create it in a fixed form that others can perceive.
What does fixed mean?
Fixed in a tangible medium of expression is a rather broad term designating a variety of material objects. Essentially, putting something into fixed form simply means putting what's in your head onto paper or disk or audiotape or some other format that others can read, see, or listen to. Among the things regarded as fixed formats are paper manuscripts, books, phono records, audiotapes, computer disks, sheet music, and films.
Don't I have to register the work or put some kind of notice on it?
Works published before March 1, 1989, had to bear a copyright notice or the copyright was lost. Works published on or after March 1, 1989, do not have to carry a copyright notice and don't have to be registered. Registering the copyright and putting a copyright notice on your work are both advisable, however. Putting the notice on the work alerts people to your copyright claim to the work and identifies the owner and year of the copyright. Registering the work adds these advantages:
- It establishes a public record of your ownership of the work.
- It permits infringement suits to be filed (you can't file an infringement suit until a work is registered).
- Registration made within five years of publication establishes prima facie evidence in court of the validity of the copyright and facts stated on the Copyright certificate.
- Registration made within three months after the publication of the work or before infringement allows you to collect statutory damage and attorney's fees if you sue for infringement and win. If the copyright wasn't registered before infringement, all you can collect are actual losses related to the infringement. (Statutory damages are a penalty that can be levied in place of or above the dollar amount of any actual loss.)
If I put a copyright notice on the work how should I do it?
The copyright notice normally consists of the following three things:
- the symbol © (the letter c in a circle) or the word Copyright or the abbreviation Copr.
- the year of first publication
- the name of the copyright owner For phono records of sound recordings, the letter p in a circle should be used instead of the circled c.
Where do I put the notice?
The notice should be put in a place that gives "reasonable notice" of your copyright such as the first page of a manuscript, the label of a record, somewhere in the front matter (traditionally the back of the title page) of a book.
If I want to register the copyright, how do I do it?
To register a copyright you will need to send a properly completed registration form, a nonrefundable fee of $30, and a nonreturnable deposit of the work to the Copyright Office. All three of those things must be in the same package. The requirements for the deposit of the work vary with the type of work being registered, but it is usually one or two complete copies of works that can be easily duplicated. To get application forms, information about deposit requirements, or other information about copyright, write the Copyright Office, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20559-6000, or call the office at (202) 707-3000. Or, visit their web site at http://www.loc.gov/copyright http://www.copyright.gov/ and download forms and booklets.
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