What does copyright for an original work of authorship not include?
There seems to be a great deal of confusion on eBay about what is and is not protected by copyright. Copyright protection DOES NOT extend to • Ideas, concepts, discoveries, and principles • Formulas, processes, systems, methods, and procedures • Words and short phrases, such as names, titles, and slogans (These may be protected under trademark.) • Familiar symbols or designs • The mechanical or utilitarian aspects of useful articles If you create clothing, hats, handbags, belts, dinnerware, furniture, light fixtures, or other “useful articles,” the Copyright Office says that “copyright does not protect the mechanical or utilitarian aspects of such works of craftsmanship.” A “useful article” is defined as “an article having an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not merely to portray the appearance of the article or to convey information.” Therefore, an original painting of a woman’s purse, which portrays a useful article, would be protected under copyright law while an actual handba
