Re: copyright in a patent?

On Thu, 17 Feb 2000, Johanna F. Sistek <jfsistek[_at_]townsend.com> wrote:
>
> A client has inquired whether it has copyright protection in an issued
> utility patent. At first blush, our response was that an issued patent
> is a government work, but after some research it appears that the client
> could possibly claim copyright protection in the technical drawings.
>
> Has anyone dealt with the issue of copyright protection in a patent
> application or the issued patent? Any comments would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> P.S. This is not a case of crossover between a design patent and a
> useful article.

I don't know if this will help, but in University of Colo. Found. v. American Cyanamid Co., 880 F. Supp. 1387 (D. Colo. 1995), 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4702 the court found that American Cyanamid had violated the copyright of the reseachers whose tables it had copied into its patent application. This seems to indicate that some material included in patent can be protected by copyright, but not whether an entire patent is protected by copyright.

-- 
S. Warwick
swarwick[_at_]sprynet.com

Seven Blunders of the World That Lead to Violence
  Wealth without work         - Science without humanity
  Pleasure without conscience - Worship without sacrifice
  Knowledge without character - Politics without principle
  Commerce without morality
         Mahatma Gandhi