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Home > Blog > Business, Copyright Articles, Inventor & Entrepreneur Updates, Patent Articles, trademark, Trademark Articles > Copyright Refresher

Copyright Refresher

December 6, 2009 by
Filed under: Business, Copyright Articles, Inventor & Entrepreneur Updates, Patent Articles, trademark, Trademark Articles 

Every year, millions of Americans create original works – books, music, research and other forms of creative expression.  All of these creations are intellectual property, and all of them are protected by copyright.  For writers, editors, and publishers, understanding copyright issues is essential, especially now that the production of counterfeit and pirated goods, including written works, has become so prevalent.  According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, more than $650 billion in pirated and counterfeited goods will flood the world market in 2005.  Making sure that your publication’s property is not among these pirated goods is critical.

While all U.S. businesses are vulnerable to IP theft, small businesses are often at a particular disadvantage.  This is especially true for writers and small publications – with more than 20,500 magazines and over 7,600 daily and weekly newspapers in the nation, there is a wealth of material for IP thieves to steal.  And now that the Internet has made copying and distributing protected material easier than ever before, it is critical that you understand the basics of protecting your original work.

That’s why the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), along with other government agencies, is reaching out to small businesses to help them protect their intellectual property.  The USPTO’s campaign includes a web site, www.stopfakes.gov/smallbusiness, specifically designed to help individuals and small businesses learn how to protect themselves in all types of intellectual property.

In order to protect yourself from IP theft, it’s important to know the basics about your rights.  For writers, editors and publishers, this means taking a look at the basics of copyright: what it is, what it protects, and how to secure it.  With this information in hand, you should be well prepared to defend yourself and your original works from the threat of IP theft.

For more information, please visit http://www.uspto.gov/ip/global/copyrights/copyrightrefresher.jsp.

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