Copyright: The Often-Overlooked Form of IP Protection

摘要

When it comes to identifying intellectual property protection, most clients quickly can name patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. However, an important, often ignored, area of intellectual property protection is copyright. Copyright protection is quite extensive, and the implications for infringing (copying) copyrighted material can potentially be devastating to a client's business. For example, your clients use of marketing materials or material posted on its Web site can create infringement concerns. Further, if your client broadcasts music or television programs to an audience, it could be subject to enforcement actions. In addition, copyright ownership issues come into play with respect to materials created by employees or independent contractors.