RE: [cni] Re: Attribution is not required in public domain materials

On Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:02 PM, Robert F. Bodi [SMTP:lawlists[_at_]bodi.com] wrote:
> Technically, patents do NOT generally protect ideas. In the U.S., the
> patent statute states that:
>
> Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine,
> manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement
> thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and
> requirements of this title.
>
> Thus, to be patentable, it must be a useful "process, machine,
manufacture,
> or composition of matter" or an "improvement" thereof. An "idea" is much
> more general, and must fall into this list to be patentable.

At the risk of being pedantic:

Patents "protect" a subset of a class of idea called inventions. The protection is a limited monopoly on the exploitation of the idea in exchange for its publication.

Copyright, on the other hand, never protects ideas.

Edward Barrow
New Media Copyright Consultant
http://www.copyweb.co.uk/
***Important: see http://www.copyweb.co.uk/email.htm for information about the legal status of this email *** Received on Thu Jun 26 2003 - 00:18:34 GMT