A copyright is the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something (as a literary, musical, or artistic work). The power to administer copyrights is given to Congress in what is known as the “Copyright Clause” in Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution:
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.
How do you obtain a copyright? Unlike a US patent, a copyright is created automagically upon creation of the “Original Work of Authorship.” Optionally, one can file with the US Copyright office, but that’s not strictly necessary. A copyright applies to:
- Any writing (including code)
- Drawings
- Paintings
- Computer generated image, etc
- Sculptures
- Architectural designs / drawings
- Music
- Videos
- Audio
- Video games
- Film
- And more!
Things that can’t be copyrighted that sometimes people think can be:
- A process or method
- An idea
- A machine
- A title of phrase
A copyrighted item must take substantive and nontrivial mental activity, be a fixed creation of the mind, nonfunctional, and original. A copyright expires like a patent does, though lasts much longer, currently expiring when whichever of the following comes first:
- 70 years after the death of authors(s)
- 95 years after publication
- 120 years after creation of anonymous works or works made for hire.
Copyright law is rather strict, so some choose to place their items under the public domain, meaning anyone can use them. Others have come up with the idea of copyleft, a less restrictive form of copyright. There is a spectrum of copyleft implementation, most notably in the software world, from less restrictive to more restrictive. The BSD or Berkeley Software Distribution License is restrictive only in the sense that you must cite the author of the code. Other than that, it can be used however you’d like, and is on the less restrictive end of the spectrum. LGPL is a little more restrictive in that the originally source code under LGPL license must remain open source, but it can be linked to and use non-LGPL (most likely closed-source) code. GPL is the most restrictive. It requires its source code to always remain open, any modifications to the code must be made open, and cannot be linked to non-GPL software. Many companies that make their own programs they don’t want to make GPL and open to everyone have to take care not to use GPL code.
A Trademark is also nown as a product identifier. Its a device (as a word) pointing distinctly to the origin or ownership of merchandise to which it is applied and legally reserved to the exclusive use of the owner as a maker or seller. A trademark is automatic when you user it in commerce for a while. Optionally, it can be registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The little ™ or SM marks on packages don’t really mean anything as those are automatic and anyone can use them on product labels, etc. The ® actually does mean something: the trademark is actually registered with the USPTO. Trademark registration lasts 10 years, and can be renewed indefinitely.
A trade secret has no expiration. It’s simply something a company has chosen to keep secret instead of applying for the appropriate intellectual property protection. There’s no expiration to a trade secret, but is someone discovers your trade secret or independently comes up with it, the company that originally had the trade secret has no protection.
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