The USPTO leads efforts to develop and strengthen both
domestic and international intellectual property  protection and advises the Secretary
of Commerce, the President of the United States, and
the Administration on patent,
trademark, and copyright protection. |
A Copyright is a form of protection
provided to the authors of “original works of authorship” including
literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual
works, both
published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the
owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted
work,
to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies
or phonorecords of
the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to
display the copyrighted work publicly.
The copyright protects the form of expression rather
than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of
a machine could
be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description;
it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or
from making and using the machine. Copyrights are registered by the
There are times when you may desire a combination of copyright, patent and trademark protection
for your work. You should consult an attorney to determine what forms
of intellectual property protection are best suited to your needs.
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![Copyrights [Exit Site]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080916091312im_/http://www.uspto.gov/main/profiles/copyright01.jpg)
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