Oxford University Press was kind enough to send me a copy of An Associate’s Guide to the Practice of Copyright Law, by Meaghan Hemmings Kent and Joshua J. Kaufman. Upon receiving the book, I looked at the table of contents and flipped through it and it appeared to be quite a handy general reference guide [...]
In a recent blog post, Seth Godin seems to question whether trademarks, copyrights, and patents have value. He begins with the question “If we’re in the idea business, how to protect those ideas?” and ends with “Don’t.” Instead, he recommends, “spread them. Build a reputation as someone who creates great ideas.” Along the way, he [...]
Technically, Copyrights Themselves Are Free
Copyrights protect your creative works, such as books and other texts, recorded music, pictures and photographs, and movies and other audiovisual recordings. The owner of the copyright to a creative work has the right to prevent others from making or distributing copies of the work without permission.
Copyrights now arise automatically when [...]
This book by William Patry is the latest offering in the recent spate of anti-copyright books aimed at the general public. I agree with the author’s overall conclusion that copyrights have been strengthened excessively, to the point that they achieve the opposite of the intended result- less creative works rather than more. However, I did [...]
If you own the copyright for a creative work, you have the right to stop anyone else from copying or distributing that work or using that work to create new derivative works. Anyone who does any of those things without your permission is infringing on your copyrights. If you have registered your copyright, you can [...]
Brett Trout has a great summary of Fair Use law as it pertains particularly to small business owners. If you are using part of a work that may be protected under copyright (to someone other than yourself) for any purpose, you owe it to yourself to consider whether your use may constitute copyright infringement. If [...]
I have discussed before the importance of registering your copyrights, which gives you the ability to enforce your copyrights. Once you submit your application for registration, you will wait for some time before hearing back from the Copyright Office regarding your application.
What Communication You Will Receive From the Copyright Office
You will not receive an acknowledgment [...]
Most of the information available on intellectual property has a legal focus. Even this blog, which is intended for a business audience, addresses particular legal issues a great deal. That sort of information can be invaluable, but at the same time I am looking to expand a little more into the role that IP plays [...]
Design patents protect the appearance of a variety of commercial objects. Copyrights protect visual creative works (among other things), such as paintings and sculptures. You may wonder whether copyright and design patent protection overlap or how to you decide which to use.
The Copyright/Design Patent Subject Matter Distinction
Copyrights protect nonfunctional objects. The copyrighted subject matter must [...]
You may have heard that copyrights arise automatically when you finish a creative work fixed in a tangible form, such as a book or other writing, picture, sculpture, musical recording, videotaped dance or other performance, computer program or website. That is true. However, there is a procedure for registering your copyright with the United States [...]