Intellectual Property: Answers to Your Questions about Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets, and Patents
Martin D. Fern, Michael Harris [Patents]
Sometimes referred to as "products of the mind," intellectual property is the term most commonly used in the United States to refer to those intangible property rights created primarily through creative effort. The most common components of intellectual property are trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets.
Intellectual property has taken on extraordinary commercial and social importance. This focus has largely followed rapid, major technological advances in the electronic transmission of information and other intellectual content. The widespread, virtually universal availability and use of devices that record, save, transmit and play text, programs, music, videos, and other digital data as well as other data mediums allows for rapid dissemination, exchange and infringement of intellectual property. Inexpensive networks of personal computers and high-speed computer printers, high-speed Internet access and, most importantly, the Internet itself contribute to the phenomenon. Governments and quasi-governmental agencies have recognized this fact by greater focus on the protection and preservation of intellectual property rights.
The law of trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and patents is highly complex and the subject of numerous, comprehensive authoritative already published works. As a contrast the mission of This Guide is to provide a readily accessible and useful tool, presented in question and answer format making it an easy-to-navigate, practical resource to understanding the legal issues involved. Extensive citations facilitate further research and numerous federal and state case studies illustrate how the law is being applied across the country. It discusses how the international patents system works and how each of these terms relate to each other.
It is primarily written for in-house counsel, other lawyers who do not specialize in intellectual property subjects, and business professionals. To ensure that the manual is always current, two updates per year are included in the annual subscription.
The manual is divided into four Parts:
Part I - Copyrights
Explores the distinctions between authorship and ownership, discusses when material does not qualify for copyright protection, details how to apply for and register a copyright.
Part II - Trademarks
Explains the basis of trademark law and how it has evolved. Includes discussion of such topics as when a trademark is considered abandoned or infringed, and what remedies are possible.
Part III - Trade Secrets
Examines the distinction between copyright law and trade secret law, and discusses how trade secrets can be lost. How can you protect a trade secret that must be disclosed to an employee?
Part IV - Patents
Explores the question of what records inventors should keep, when and why they should apply for registration, and how the international system works. Examines the difficult issue of inventions that are created by employees on company time.
This Intellectual Property manual is one of the many products from STP, a leading publisher of Environmental, Health and Safety, Transportation and Accounting practices, regulations and laws. In addition, STP publishes in the Business Law arena, enjoying major success with manuals covering Corporate Liability issues, Franchise Law, Internet Law, Securities Law, Employment Law, Insurance Law, Pricing a Company, Offshore Planning and Workplace Violence Prevention. Since its inception in 1986, STP has earned considerable recognition with its comprehensive, easy-to-read presentations of United States, Mexican, and Canadian laws and regulations.
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