| Copyrights and Fair Use |
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| A copyright is a property right granted by federal law to authors or creators of original works such as writings, art, music and sound recordings, performances, photographs, movies, and the like. The copyright holder has the exclusive right to reproduce or copy the work, distribute or sell the work, or perform or display the work publicly. The copyright holder may also authorize others to use the work in those same ways. More... |
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| U.S. International Trade Commission |
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| The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is an independent, nonpartisan, quasi-judicial federal agency that provides trade expertise to both the legislative and executive branches of government, determines the impact of imports on U.S. industries, and directs actions against certain unfair trade practices, such as patent, trademark, and copyright infringement. The USITC was established by Congress in 1916. More... |
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| Copyright as Community Property |
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| Copyright and community property are both branches of property law. Although copyrights are created by federal law they are subject to some state law control as well. Copyright enforcement relies on state rules that are generally applicable to property. Under community property laws, a husband and wife become the co-owners of such property as may be owned or acquired by either spouse if and to the extent that such property falls within the definition of community property. A copyright work authored by a spouse during the marriage is community property. More... |
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| Economic Espionage Act of 1996 |
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| The Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (EEA) provided a broader definition of what constitutes a "trade secret" and what constitutes trade secret theft, effectively replacing the 1948 Trade Secrets Act, which was limited to prosecution of federal employees. The EEA also was passed so as to serve as a universal trade secret theft act, overriding various trade secret acts instituted by individual states. More... |
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| Color as Trademark Subject Matter |
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| Under the Lanham Act "any word, name, symbol or device" may be eligible for trademark registration. Courts have differed as to whether or not the law recognizes the use of color alone as a trademark because the Lanham Act does not specifically mention color. For many years the general rule had been that color would not be given trademark significance because of the limited number of colors available, unless the color was employed as an element of a distinctive design. More... |
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