Who Obtains The Copyright?
Remember, copyright protection does not protect a new idea. It protects a “work of authorship.” Copyright protection exists from the time a work is created in fixed form. The copyright work exists immediately and becomes the property of the author who created the work. One important thing to note is that publication is no longer the key to obtaining federal copyright as it was under the Copyright Act of 1909. Before 1978, federal copyright required the act of publication with a notice of copyright. Today, the copyright exists from the time the work is created in fixed form. And, several categories are plainly not eligible for federal copyright protection. The following are categories that federal copyright laws will not protect. * Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression. * Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents. * Ideas,
