What with all the hullabaloo about James
Frey and his nonfiction book, A Million
Little Pieces—which turns out
to be not nonfiction but an amalgam
of true and fabricated embellishments,
the emphasis on intellectual property
copyright is even more important. No,
Frey did not copy or infringe in that
respect on any intellectual property
copyright laws, but he did bring back
to the forefront of the publishing world’s
conscious the issue of real and fair
versus false and unfair. Combined with
the ways of the world and those on the
worldwide web who are less than scrupulous,
the need for intellectual property copyright
is imperative. So first, here are a
few of the standard terms as they apply
to intellectual property copyright procedures,
according to the U.S. Copyright office
codes and such firms and institutions
as The San Diego Business Law Firm:
DEFINITION of INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intellectual property is any creation
done by the mind (intellect). This
includes writing, art, inventions,
methods and techniques and practices,
and processes.
DEFINITION of COPYRIGHT
Copyright is protective coverage,
as instituted by the United States
and its laws (title 17, U.S. Code).
This coverage is granted to those
applying for protection of any original
work of authorship—including
literary, dramatic, musical, artistic,
and certain other intellectual works
(such as technological and scientific,
though not those that are or will
be protected by patent or trademark).
Copyright protection covers both published
and unpublished works, depending upon
the author’s application of
and for copyright protection.
GETTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COPYRIGHT
PROTECTION
If you are an author or creator of
any of the above intellectual property,
you can get protection (for as little
as 35 bucks). You can go directly
to the U.S. Copyright site, or you
can learn more from one of the following
thorough and supportive links:
AuthorsLawyer.com – Includes
copyright management tools, copyright
sources, scam info, and more….
NetEnforcers.com – offers services
to educate and protect you….
Whatiscopyright.org – a q and
a that covers definitions and distinctions
(between, say, patents and copyrights)….
FURL (furl.net) – to furl your
site to check for copy thieves
Brint.com (http://www.brint.com/IntellP.htm)
– pages on Intellectual Property
Copyright Law and (other) Technology:
Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents….
LawGirl Says…( http://www.lawgirl.com/webcopyright.shtml)
– a discussion of copyright
protection for websites….
Copyscape.com – another furling
site to catch em.
The US Copyright Office (copyright.gov)
– everything about copyright
and services for registering/copyrighting
your work in the U. S.
Best of luck, creativity, and deserved
protection to all!
