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Without looking it up, what do you think copyright | by Illiad | 2008-10-01 13:22:58 |
| Ooof, this lot is COMPLICATED. |
by McNutcase |
2008-10-01 14:01:20 |
Copyright relates to creative works. Basically, if you've written/painted/made/etc something, you own all the rights to its use. You can assign those rights, by such things as signing a publishing contract, but you retain ownership of the work unless you decide to give it away. Unauthorised use of copyrighted works is what's referred to as "piracy" by such organisations as the RIAA and MPAA.
Trademarks are not the same. When you hold a trademark, you're the only entity allowed to use that trademark for whatever you use it for. The classic example is the red triangle seen on bottles of Bass beer. Bass are the only company allowed to put that red triangle on beer, and it should be a guarantee that the beer in the bottle is Bass. Using a trademark you're not entitled to is "passing off". I picked the example I did because it was the first trademark registered in the UK - and that was because Bass's representative had camped outside the office the night before opening!
Patents are... broken. What they're *supposed* to be is a proof that such-and-such a person had this idea, and also an exclusivity agreement - allowing the inventor (customarily) 21 years to exploit the idea before anyone else can copy it without licensing it from the inventor. What they are now in the US is a horrendous failure.
Disclaimer: I do not know how accurate the above is. It should NOT under any circumstances be used as legal advice. I am not a lawyer, although I do sleep with one. |
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