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All Intellectual Property is Not Equal

by Pamela Parker

Copyright covers creative works fixed in a medium. Patent covers inventions.
Copyright protection extends for the life of the author, plus 50 or more years, depending on when the copyright was obtained (the law changed in 1995, in what is often referred to as the Disney law). Patent protection, on the other hand, lasts about twenty years. Period. The thinking is that the twenty year period would allow the inventor enough exclusive marketing and sales time to recoup the development costs and to make a little profit. After that, the public good demanded that the invention be available for all. You see the effects of the patent limitation in the periodic appearance of new generic drugs, and the sudden proliferation a few years ago of products incorporating the very spiffy invention previously sold exclusively under the brand name Velcro.

But Copyright protection lasts much longer. Any idea as to why?


Posted in General on May 23rd, 2007

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Copyright touches writers, music lovers, teachers, musicians, businesses, artists, amateur filmmakers, students, libraries, and publishers – to name just a few! In other words, these days everyone is affected by copyright and everyone needs to have at least a basic understanding of it. Copyright Talk discusses issues and developments everyone needs to know about.

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