Copyright Law

Copyright law actually falls under a category of law called Intellectual Property law. This area of law deals with issues relating to patents, copyrights and trademarks, royalties, marketing and publishing rights, franchising and other related issues of commercial law. Intellectual property law is also concerned with domain names and e-commerce, as well as other legal areas related to technology.?

A copyright protects an author's original works with specific rights. These rights entitle the owner to reproduce, distribute, display, sell, and to authorize or prevent others from doing the same with those works.?

Copyright protection is available for original works that are fixed on a tangible medium of expression. The quality of the work really isn't the issue. For example, if the lyrics to a song are written on a napkin, they can still be copyrighted (regardless of the quality of the medium of expression). The key is that the work is original in its creativity.?

Categories that qualify as work could include literary works, musical works (including lyrics), dramatic works such as plays and pantomimes, movies, videos, computer games and other program creations, artwork of any kind, sound recordings, web page designs, architecture designs, etc.

What you cannot copyright is an idea. This is different, of course, than a Trade Secret, which you can place under a Confidentiality Agreement to protect certain kinds of information you wish to protect from being misused.?

In order to obtain a copyright, you don't need to register or apply with any particular agency. You receive copyright protection when you create your original work. There is a copyright office, however, where you may (and should) register your work. Depositing a copy of your work with the U.S. Copyright Office within 90 days of its creation protects the work by providing a legal record of it. In this way, others have official notice of your ownership rights on file with this office, along with its creation date. This shows that you created the work first in case there's ever a question later on.?

For more information on how to actually file a copyright with the Copyright Office, see the following link for helpful forms and advice on how to register. http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright?

When infringement of copyright law occurs, you have the right to petition the court to grant a temporary restraining order to prevent and/or stop further infringement. An infringer can be held liable for actual or statutory damages. Additionally, infringers can also be held liable for the damages done to business or to the weakening in the value of the copyright as a result of their actions.?

A patent is different than a copyright. A patent is a grant of property right by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to the inventor. This is actually a provision for Congress to encourage useful inventions. The patent describes the invention in detail, how it is made, and how to use it. There are no Trade Secrets here, but the patent does exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention for the life of the patent (usually 20 years). Inventions must be novel, useful and non-frivolous.?

Laws dealing with patents and trademarks can get extremely complex, and you will need to consult an attorney when you have questions in many of the areas of Intellectual Property Law. The information here only begins to scratch the surface in this area, but we hope you have found it somewhat helpful. Find a Southern California patent attorney in the Internet Lawyer Directory.