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| IT and IP Law |
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| Copyrights |
 Copyright law protects original, creative
expression in the tangible form of books, films, music and other works
of art. In the commercial area, copyrights protect advertising materials,
trade publications, label designs, operations manuals and photographs.
Copyrights also protect computer software and databases. Works are protected
from the moment they are created in tangible form, regardless of whether
the author files with the U.S. Copyright Office or places a copyright
notice on the work. Although federal copyright registration is not a prerequisite
to copyright protection in the U.S., registration is necessary before
the copyright owner can bring a lawsuit for infringement. In practice,
most software is seldom registered in the U.S. Copyright Office.
Under Section 106 of the Copyright Act, the owner of a copyright has the
exclusive rights to do the following:
 Make
copies of the work. |
| Prepare
derivative works based on the work. |
| Distribute
copies of the work publicly. |
| Perform
the work publicly. |
| Display
the work publicly. |
Copyright law protects the expression, not the idea. In this sense, copyright
law differs from patent and trade secret law.
Copyrights in the U.S. generally last for the life of the author plus seventy
years. When a work is created by an employee in the course of his or her employment,
it is generally considered to be a work made “for hire”. Copyright
protection for a work made for hire lasts ninety-five years from publication
or one hundred twenty years from creation, whichever is shorter. |
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