Law

Study Guide

Copyrights

A copyright is a law (title 17, U.S. Code) that protects the authors of "original works of authorship." A few of the items protected include literary, musical, artistic, dramatic and other intellectual works. Published and unpublished works are covered by this law. Exclusive rights are given to the owner under Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act. Copyrights are registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.

Patents

For an invention, a patent is the grant of a property right to the inventor. The term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the US or, from the date an earlier related application was filed. This is also subject to the payment of maintenance fees. US patent grants are only effective within the US. The owner of a patent has "the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling" the invention in the US or "importing" the invention into the US. The patent grants only the right to "exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention." A patent is issued by the Patent and Trademark Office.

Trademarks

A trademark, is "a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others." A trademark does not identify or distinguish the source of a service. Trademark rights only prevent others from using a similar mark. A trademark does not prevent others from producing the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark.

Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act

Signed in 1998, the act lengthened the Copyright term by 20 years. The act extended the time before works would enter public domain, but did not revive copyright that had expired. The act extended the period after the author's death from 50 to 70 years for personal copyrights. For corporate copyrights, it extended the term from 75 to 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever was sooner. The act was nicknamed the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act" because of Disney's considerable lobbying efforts.

Proponents state that the term needed to be lengthened because of life expectancy increases since the original Copyright Act of 1790. They also contend that technology allowing for repeat viewings, like DVD and cable, allow for greater value and commercial lifetime of works.

Opponents consider the act unconstitutional, but have failed to have it overturned. They argue that most works gather the majority of their income within the first few years. They also point out that Patent terms are still only 20 years, yet adequately reward investment.

WIPO Copyright Treaty

The World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty was an international treaty signed in 1996 that provided additional protection for copyright due to the advancement in technology. It provides protection for necessary copyright in knowledge monopoly dependent industries. Critics say that the treaty is too broad, especially considering the differing economic statuses of the countries involved.

Additional Resources

What are Copyrights, Patents, & Trade Secrets?

• The only official web site for the United States Patent and Trademark Office U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• United States Copyright Office The Library of Congress
• Ladas & Parry guide to statutory protection for computer software in the United States: copyright protection Ladas & Parry
• Trade secret protection David B. Himelstein, Attorney at Law
• Copyrighting software David B. Himelstein, Attorney at Law
• Journal of Intellectual property law & practice Oxford Journals
• Standards As intellectual property: an economic approach David Friendman

Proposed Legislation

• Senators announce new intellectual-property enforcement bill Electronic Frontier Foundation
• S 3325 Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT]

Against Copyrights and Patents

• World Intellectual Property Organization Dr. Kamil Idris
• Copyright, patent, trade secret and technology bills in U.S. Congress Jeffrey R. Kuester

For Copyrights and Patents

• A primer on the ethics of "intellectual property" Ram Samudrala
• Trade secret protection David B. Himelstein, Attorney at Law

Important Cases

• The Lotus v. Borland case Bill Goldwine
• Amazon.com v. BarnesAndNoble.com - February 14, 2001 - Federal circuit vacating PI for "One-Click" patent
• Apple v. Microsoft Joseph Myers, Richmond Journal of Law & Technology
• Wallace v. International Business Machines Wikipedia

Existing Page

• Intellectual Property Law
• Topic Description