IP (Intellectual property) is a non-physical property that is the product of an original thought, such as inventions, designs, literacy, images, names, etc. IP law protects the control of the physical manifestations of the original ideas. In the United States, there are many types of IP rights that are regulated: copyright, patent, trade secret, trademark, and so on.
Copyright protection
Copyright protection is regulated by the U.S. Copyright Act, or Title 17 of U.S. Code. 17 U.S.C. §102 states that copyright protection protects the original authorship, and lists the 8 categories of authorships. Copyright protection also extends to the derivative works of the original work. for example, if an illustrator licensed his/her picture book into a stuffed toy, this toy is also protected by the copyright law. However, certain use of the copyrighted material is allowed by the law. Under 17 U.S.C. §107, if the court decides that the use of the copyrighted work is a fair use after considering the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount used, and the market impact to the original work, the use is allowed.
Patent protection
Patent protection is regulated under Title 35 of U.S. Code. An invention must be new or novel, useful, and non-obvious of the subject matter to be protected by the U.S. Patent Act. An inventor needs to file the invention to United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to have the patent approved. Once the patent is approved, the patent will be registered.
Trademark
Trademark is regulated under Chapter 22 of Tile 15 U.S. Code. A trademark cannot be a phrase or symbol used in everyday language. If a trademark became too widely used, the right to exclusively use the trademark lapsed. This type of trademark is called “generic trademarks”. An example of generic trademark is “aspirin”. In Bayer Co. v. United Drug Co., 272 F. 505, the court ruled that because “Aspirin” had passed into public domain, it’s no longer a trademark.
[Last updated in June of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team]