November 3, 2009
IP Overview: Copyrights Explained
United States copyright law protects original works of authorship that have been fixed in any tangible medium of expression. Pretty much anything that you can write down or record is automatically protected from direct copying without your permission. Everything from that flier for your company’s last promotion to the business plan that you spent weeks drafting in preparation for that product launch is covered. As long as it’s original, and as long as you took the time to get it down on paper, you’ve got copyright protection.
The “originality” requirement of our copyright statute is a very low hurdle. As long as you created it, and as long as it has the smallest amount of creativity, then a work of authorship qualifies for automatic protection. Only the most basic and unoriginal material is considered ineligible for protection. For example, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that alphabetized lists of names and contact information (e.g., phonebooks) are not original enough to be protected by copyright. Also, anything that can only be expressed in a limited number of ways, e.g., contest rules or contract terms, will not be afforded protection. Anything else is fair game.
Where many people run into trouble is the “fixation” requirement. There is no protection for unexpressed ideas. The statutory language is careful to point out that there is no limitation on what medium must be employed, but unless the expression is fixed in such a way that it can be duplicated, then you cannot stop someone else from getting it down and claiming their own expression.
October 15, 2009
Trade Secrets in Copyright Registrations for Computer Programs
by Philip Zies
Copyright Registrations of computer programs without trade secret information require a completed application form, a filing fee, and a deposit of identifying portions of the program (the first 25 pages and last 25 pages of the source code). When the computer program contains trade secret information, however, a different procedure is followed.
First, include a cover letter stating that the submission contains trade secrets. The cover letter can attach the page of the source code containing the copyright notice, if any.
Second, for a completely new computer program or for a revised computer program where the revisions are in the first 25 pages and last 25 pages of the source code, the deposit of identifying portions of the program is either: the first 25 pages and last 25 pages of the source code with portions containing trade secrets redacted; or the first 10 pages and last 10 pages of the source code with no portions redacted; or the first 25 pages and last 25 pages of object code plus any 10 or more consecutive pages of source code with no portions redacted; or, for programs of 50 pages of source code or less, the entire source code with portions containing trade secrets redacted. For revised versions of computer programs where the revisions are not in the first 25 pages and last 25 pages of source code, the deposit of identifying portions of the program is either: 20 pages of source code containing revisions with no portions redacted; or any 50 pages of source code containing revisions with portions containing trade secrets redacted. If depositing redacted portions of the source code, the redacted portions must be proportionately less than the visible portions of the original code and the visible portions must represent an appreciable amount of the original code.
While trade secret protection is a matter of state law, following these procedures should enable an author to seek federal registration of a computer program containing trade secrets, without waiving the trade secrets contained therein. You can view the US Copyright Office Circular on Copyright Registration for Computer Programs by clicking here.
This article has also been posted on JD Supra.
