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Free copyright protection tips
Get copyright protection information
Get access to one of the best, reliable sources of copyright
information. Click
here
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Copyright protection
Protect Your Ideas With Copyrights and Patents by TimKnox
Q: Can you tell me the difference between a copyright and a patent?
Also is that something I should let a lawyer handle for me?
A: A wise man once said, "The biggest difference between a copyright
and a patent is the number of lawyers it takes to do the paperwork."
There is a point to be made there, mainly that if this wise man
had paid his attorney to copyright that tidbit of wisdom I probably
would have had to pay him five bucks to use the quote.
Copyrights, trademarks and patents are similar in that they are
designed by law to protect your rights of ownership, but that's
where the similarity ends. A copyright protects a creative work;
a trademark protects a brand or company identity; and a patent
protects an invention or process.
A copyright protects the rights of anyone who creates an "original
work of authorship." A copyright owner has the exclusive right
to reproduce the work; prepare spin-off works based on the copyrighted
work; and to sell, perform and/or display the copyrighted work
in public.
Copyright protection is afforded to eight categories of creative
works: literary works (the written word); musical works (lyrics,
music, melodies); dramatic works (plays, scripts, screenplays);
artistic works (pictorial and sculptural), sound recordings (LPs,
CDs, audio tapes); choreographic works (dance, pantomime); audiovisual
works; and architectural works (blueprints, designs, renderings).
An original work is automatically copyrighted the moment it is
put into a fixed format such as a paper copy or recording. In
other words, once you put your original story in writing or make
a recording of an original song, your copyright is automatically
secured. From that moment on your work has copyright protection
for your lifetime, plus 50 years after your death.
Registering a work with the U.S. Copyright Office is not required,
but since it is relatively simple and inexpensive to do so, I
advise that you register a copyright for each work you wish to
protect. Also, your copyright must be registered in order to take
legal action against someone who might infringe on the copyright
in the future.
You can register a copyright without the assistance of an attorney.
Simply visit the U.S. Copyright office website at http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/
and download the appropriate form. Complete the form and send
it in with a $30 nonrefundable filing fee. This must be done for
each individual work you wish to protect.
A patent is a form of protection granted to an inventor that protects
his invention in the United States for up to 20 years from the
date of application. Patent law states that, "whoever invents
or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture,
composition of matter, or any new and useful improvements thereof
may obtain a patent." Owning a patent gives you the legal right
to stop someone else from making, using or selling your invention
(or one that's very close to it) without your permission. However,
proving that someone is infringing on your patent is often difficult
and usually requires a trial to settle the dispute.
Since the first U.S. patent was awarded in 1790, more than five
million patents have been awarded. The patent office receives
more than 230,000 patent applications every year and I can tell
you from personal experience that a turtle on Prozac moves faster
than the patent process. Patents can take several years, truckloads
of paperwork, and considerable legal fees to obtain. The cost
of obtaining a patent can run from $500 for a simple design patent
to $50,000 and more for a complex utility patent. However, if
your company has a truly patentable idea, you would be wise to
invest the time and money required to secure your rights. A good
patent can be a valuable business asset.
While you can file a patent yourself, I strongly advise that you
use an attorney since a naively written patent application often
isn't worth the paper it's printed on. Just recently my attorney
did a patent search for me only to discover that a patent for
a similar product was already in place. However, due to the ineffectual
language of the patent application, the patent was practically
impossible for the owner to enforce.
Good news for me. Not so good news for the wise man who wrote
his own patent.
Here's to your success!
Tim Knox tim@dropshipwholesale.net
Tim Knox Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker Tim Knox is a nationally-known
small business expert who writes and speaks frequently on the
topic. For more information or to contact Tim please visit one
of his sites below. http://www.dropshipwholesale.net http://www.smallbusinessqa.com
http://www.timknox.com
Article Source: ArticleRich.com
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