There are plenty of debates going on in art communities about the subjects of intellectual property. The problem is these terms are often used, but seldom understood. I am going to offer up some quick clarification. The laws around these topics are complicated and the precedence set is often contradictory, so this is by no means to be used as a complete and total commentary on the topics at hand.

Intellectual property is the area of law that protects the rights of artists. If you created an original work, then you are protected under this law. The purpose of these laws is to encourage people to bring their creation out onto the open market without the fear of it being stolen by a bigger more powerful company. This protects our economy, and so, it is taken very seriously.

Copyrights protect the expressive arts. It gives the owners exclusive rights to reproduce, display, and perform their works. Additionally they have the economic rights to financially benefit from them. Other people, however, cannot profit from their work, without their permission. Copyrights do not express ideas, only how they are expressed.

Patents are used to protect inventions. This keeps them from being made, sold, or used by others for a certain period of time. In order to have your invention covered under a patent law you must apply and be approved for a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office, which is a long and painful process. If you want to file a patent you should probably hire an intellectual property attorney.

Trademarks are used to protect the names and identifying marks of products and companies. The purpose is to keep companies from stealing anothers identity. This way the consumer is sure they are really getting Frosty-Os cereal and not some imposter. Trademarks are automatically assumed by putting TM next to whatever they want to trademark. There is no paperwork or government involvement at all.

It seems so cut and dry, but, in the real world, things get convoluted quickly. If you have any questions regarding intellectual property go to an intellectual property lawyer. If it doesnt come from an intellectual property lawyer, take it with a grain of salt. This area of law is too complex to traverse un-guided.

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