COPYRIGHT/PATENT.

COPYRIGHT/PATENT.


Copyrights protect the expression of ideas. Artistic works are generally considered to be expressions of ideas – books, paintings, songs, movies, and computer programs are examples. Copyright will not protect the process through which a particular work was created or the use of information within it (instructions, etc.).

Cookbooks are often used to illustrate the difference between the expression of an idea and the idea itself. Cookbooks cannot be reproduced without permission because they are an expression of ideas (the recipes). However, people can still follow the recipes in the cookbook because they are replicating the ideas contained in the literary work. If the recipes were protected by a patent, users would need permission to follow them, since patents protect particular ideas from being used without authorization.

A patent is a right, granted by the government, to exclude others from making, using, or selling your invention. Patents protect inventions such as new processes, machines, or chemicals. The central idea is that patents protect ideas, not just expressions of them. The main effect of patents is to give their holders the right to challenge any use of the invention by a third party. He thereby gave a temporary monopoly of exploitation which can be understood as a financial incentive for inventive industrial activities.