Alabama State Bar

The subject matter protected by copyright generally, extends to literary works, music, dramatic works, pictorial and graphic works, sculptures, songs, and even architecture, just to name a few. The protection lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years for works created after January 1, 1978. What copyright protection does not protect are ideas, methods of operation, principles, and concepts, such as a scientific method or a recipe. There is also no copyright protection for names, titles, and slogans because they contain an insufficient amount of authorship. There lies one of the differences between copyright and trademark: Trademark protects words, phrases, and designs that identify goods and services.

This article is an introduction to patent issues for the lawyer who is not a patent attorney. It is meant to provide the non-patent lawyer the ability to identify issues and provide initial guidance for a client who might have a patentable invention, or who might receive a notice of patent infringement.

Intellectual property may be described in a general sense as the opposite of real property – an intangible property right as opposed to something that you can see or hold in your hand. It is this intangible nature that, for many business owners, renders the existence of intellectual property rights and, more importantly, their value, illusory, underappreciated, and misunderstood. This article is intended to identify some common mistakes that business owners make with respect to intellectual property and how those mistakes can be avoided.