How
Copyright Protection Works
by
Paul Thomas
What does copyright protect? Copyright
is a type of intellectual property law, and it protects original works
of authorship including dramatic, literary, artistic works and musical,
and such as poetry, movies, novels, songs, computer software and
architecture. Copyright does not protect ideas, facts, systems or
methods of operation, though it may protect the way these things are
expressed.
How can I copyright my website? The
original authorship that appears on a website may be protected by
copyright. This includes artwork, writings, photographs and other forms
of authorship protected by copyright. Actions for registering the
contents of a website can be found in Copyright Registration for Online
Works.
How about copyright and my domain name?
Copyright law does not protect domain names. The Internet Corporation
for Assigned Names and Numbers that is a nonprofit organization that has
understood the responsibility for domain name system management is
administrating the assignation of domain names through recognized
registers.
How about copyright to a slogan, logo,
name or title? Copyright does not protect titles, names, slogans or
short phrases. In a few cases these things may be protected as
trademarks. Get in touch with U.S. Patent & Trademark Office on phone
800-786-9199 for additional information. Nevertheless copyright
protection may be obtainable for logo artwork that contains enough
authorship.
Can I protect my ideas? Copyright does
not protect systems, concepts, ideas or methods of doing something. You
may convey your ideas in writing or drawings and claim copyright in your
explanation, but that copyright will not protect the idea itself as
revealed in your written or artistic work.
Copyright protection and unpublished
work. Publication is not required for copyright protection. It can be
done with unpublished work as well.
Architecture copyright protection?
Architectural work became subject matter to copyright protection on the
1.st of December 1990. The copyright law defines architectural work as
"the design of a building embodied in any tangible medium of expression,
including a building, drawings or architectural plans." Copyright
protection extends to any architectural work created on or after Dec. 1,
1990. Any architectural works that were incomplete and embodied in
unpublished plans or drawings on that date and were constructed by
December 31, 2002, are entitled to protection. Architectural designs
embodied in buildings constructed prior to December 1, 1990, are not
entitled for copyright protection. See Copyright Claims in Architectural
Works
About the Author
Much more information about
Copyright Protection
on this website.
