Copyright, Trademarks, and Patents are all Intellectual Property. But What is Copyright Protected?

Disclaimer

What works can get copyright protection?

•There are several requirements for a work to be copyrightable: basically, they must be creative works, rather than functional items. Copyright law's perception of what a creative work is includes but is not limited to:

1. articles
2. books
3. journals, periodicals, magazines
4. software programs
5. paintings
6. images, on-and off-line
7. sculpture
8. music

• The authorship must be original.
• The work must be "fixed" in a tangible medium of expression, something you can see, hear, touch, even with the use of a machine or other device.

What kinds of intellectual property do not get copyright protection?

These and more:

•Functional items that can be protected with a patent of original biological, mechanical, electrical or chemical design.
•Design Patents: a designer wrist watch may be patent protected.
•Things not fixed in a medium of expression:

1. Ideas, slogans, names.
2. Common expressions: "Quality means service," "9/11." Commercial slogans may be trademark protected.
3. Lists
4. Common-property works: generic eye charts, lists of dates, but calendars, if they have a definite design, are copyright protected.

•Items that can be trademark protected: brand names, trade dresses (like the Pez packaging), service mark, collective mark.

What other works are not copyright protected?

•Works that are in the public domain
•Government documents, with some exceptions such as the writings of individuals in presidential libraries.

For more information, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Last updated: January 2006