copyright requirements There are three basic requirements for copyright protection: that which is to be protected must be a work of authorship; it must be original; and it must be fixed in a tangible medium of expression.

Use of the copyright symbol is more similar to use of the trade mark symbol, as work does not need to be registered in order to use it. You can place the copyright symbol on any original piece of work you have created.

All works published in the United States before 1924 are in the public domain. Works published after 1923, but before 1978 are protected for 95 years from the date of publication. If the work was created, but not published, before 1978, the copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years.

Eight categories of works are copyrightable:

• Literary, musical and dramatic works.
• Pantomimes and choreographic works.
• Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works.
• Sound recordings.
• Motion pictures and other AV works.
• Computer programs.
• Compilations of works and derivative works.
• Architectural works.

How do I protect my idea? Copyright does not protect ideas, concepts, systems, or methods of doing something. You may express your ideas in writing or drawings and claim copyright in your description, but be aware that copyright will not protect the idea itself as revealed in your written or artistic work.

In general, copyright does not protect individual words, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; or mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents.

What Can’t Be Trademarked?

• Proper names or likenesses without consent from the person.
• Generic terms, phrases, or the like.
• Government symbols or insignia.
• Vulgar or disparaging words or phrases.
• The likeness of a U.S. President, former or current.
• Immoral, deceptive, or scandalous words or symbols.
• Sounds or short motifs.

What cannot be protected by copyrights? Copyrights don’t protect ideas, systems, or methods that cover making things, business procedures or operations, scientific or technical approaches, mathematical principles, algorithms, formulas, or other concepts. Ideas are works that do not exist in tangible form.

Thomas Alva Edison was widely known as America’s most prolific inventor, even after his death in 1931. He held a total of 1,093 U.S. patents (1,084 utility patents and 9 design patents). In 2003, his patent count was exceeded by Japanese inventor Shunpei Yamazaki.

A patent is an important document which grants ownership to an invention. However, simply owning a patent won’t generate a dime for the inventor. To profit from your idea, you must sell the patent, license usage rights, or market the product yourself.

An inventor taking this approach to patent selling may attract $5,000 to $35,000 for their patent, or more if it’s a valuable patent. Some inventors hire a marketing service to try to interest companies; such marketing companies usually keep statistics on their success rate.

Defensive Aggregator says ‘World’s Most Valuable Patent’ is held by tiny Intertrust Technologies. Privately held Sunnyvale, CA-based, Intertrust Technologies, a digital rights management company, holds the world’s most valuable patent according to research conducted by defensive patent aggregator Unified Patents.

If the corporation makes an offer, it will typically be anywhere from $50 thousand to $8 million, and can be higher. On the other hand, an inventor trying to simply market an issued patent to corporations, is likely to get anywhere from $5,000 to $35,000.

While the truth of these two men is unknown, it is an actual fact that Coca-Cola does not have a patent on its recipe to ensure that its secret formula remains undisclosed. In 1893 , Coca-Cola patented its original formula, but after the formula changed, it was not patented again.

The recipe is not patented, because patents are published in detail and come with an expiration date, whereas trade secrets can remain the intellectual property of their holders in perpetuity. KFC uses its Original Recipe as a means to differentiate its product from its competitors.