Copyright Law | Patent Law | Trademark Law | Unfair Competition
Copyright Law
The U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 - 810, is
Federal legislation enacted by Congress under its Constitutional
grant of authority to protect the writings of authors. See U.S.
Constitution, Article I, Section 8. Changing technology has led
to an ever expanding understanding of the word "writings". The
Copyright Act now reaches architectural design, software, the
graphic arts, motion pictures, and sound recordings. Given the
scope of the Federal legislation and its provision precluding
inconsistent state law, the field is almost exclusively a Federal
one.
A copyright gives the owner the exclusive right to reproduce,
distribute, perform, display, or license his work. The owner
also receives the exclusive right to produce or license derivatives
of his or her work. Limited exceptions to this exclusivity exist
for types of "fair use", such as book reviews. To be covered
by copyright a work must be original and in a concrete "medium
of expression." Under current law, works are covered whether
or not a copyright notice is attached and whether or not the
work is registered.
Copyrights cover the following: literary, musical and dramatic
works, periodicals, maps, works of art (including models), art
reproductions, sculptural works, technical drawings, photographs,
prints (including labels), movies and other audiovisual works,
computer programs, compilations of works and derivative works,
and architectural drawings.
Patent Law
Patents grant an inventor the right to exclude others from producing
or using the inventor's discovery or invention for a limited
period of time. A patent is an exclusive right to the benefits
of an invention or improvement granted by the U.S. Patent Office,
for a specific period of time, on the basis that it is novel
(not previously known or described in a publication), "non-obvious" (a
form which anyone in the field of expertise could identify),
and useful. There are three types of patents: a) "utility patent" which
includes a process, a machine (mechanism with moving parts),
manufactured products, and compounds or mixtures (such as chemical
formulas); b) "design patent" which is a new, original and ornamental
design for a manufactured article; and c) "plant patent" which
is a new variety of a cultivated asexually reproduced plant.
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Trademark Law
Trademarks are generally distinctive symbols, pictures, or words
that sellers affix to distinguish and identify the origin of
their products. Trademark status may also be granted to distinctive
and unique packaging, color combinations, building designs, product
styles, and overall presentations. It is also possible to receive
trademark status for identification that is not on its face distinct
or unique but which has developed a secondary meaning over time
that identifies it with the product or seller. The owner of a
trademark has exclusive right to use it on the product it was
intended to identify and often on related products. Service-marks
receive the same legal protection as trademarks but are meant
to distinguish services rather than products.
Unfair Competition
Unfair competition involves wrongful and/or fraudulent business
methods to gain an unfair advantage over competitors; for example:
untrue or misleading advertising, misleading customers by imitative
trademark, name or package, or falsely disparaging another's
product.
