Illinois Copyright Law
Copyright, is a form of intellectual property law, which provides protection for literary, musical, dramatic, artistic, and other specific intellectual works such as poetry, movies, songs, books, software and architecture. Copyrights come into existence upon creation of the work. Creation is defined as when the work is "fixed in a tangible medium", whether published or unpublished. This definition means that the work is in some form of permanency, such as on paper, disk, hard drive, tape, CD, and so on. Once you file your application with the Copyright Office you will have siginificant benefits from registration, which consists of the possibility of receiving attorney fees and statutory damages in the event of infringement of the previously registered copyright. Additionally, in most instances a copyright infringement action cannot be brought by the copyright owner until the work has been registered with the United States Copyright Office.
Copyright does not protect ideas, facts, systems, or methodologie of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.
US Patent Information
In the United States, patent law protection gives the inventor the right to exclude all others in the United States from making, using, selling or importing the subject matter which consists of the new invention. A patent application is a detailed written description of an invention's structure and function, accompanied by mandatory patent-quality drawings. A patent application has often been described by the courts as the most difficult legal document to draft because it must be written pursuant to strict regulations so as to result in a patent that is valid and enforceable. The law pertaining to patents is found in Title 35 of the United States Code. In order to be patented an invention must be novel, useful, and not of an obvious nature. Patents are issued for four common types of inventions/discoveries: machines, human made products, compositions of matter, and processing methods.
A valid patent cannot be granted for an invention that was patented or described in a printed publication in the USA or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country more than one year prior to the date of the application for patent in the United States. A valid patent application may only be filed in the name of the actual inventor or inventors of the invention over which patent protection is sought. In addition, patent protection is widely unavailable in foreign countries if the invention is publicly used or otherwise disclosed anywhere in the world before a patent application is filed.
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, which identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods or services of one party from those of others. Some well-known examples of trademarks include Coca-Cola for soft drinks, Heinz for ketchup, Adidas for footwear, and Microsoft for software.
Get assistance from a qualified attorney who specializes in business copyright, patent and trademark law.
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Resources
Copyright Enforcement Agencies
- Business Software Alliance
- Software Publishers Association
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Turnitin
(Finds plagiarism for teachers)
U.S. Copyright Offices