While it seems that this topic may be rather basic, the differences between types of protection under the broader heading of “intellectual property law,” are commonly confused. Not only have I been asked this question directly, but also I have heard folks frequently using the words “copyright,” “trademark” and “patents” interchangeably. These terms have very separate meanings, however, and the doctrines and black letter assumptions applicable to each are very different.
(Note that because I do not practice in the area of patent law, I am omitting patents from this discussion. Recognize, however, that patent law is a pivotal component of the larger intellectual property law environment and should not be ignored when considering what protections to pursue for various intellectual property assets.)
Copyrights (17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.)
In a nutshell, U.S. copyright law protects an “original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression” from being copied and/or used by others. The phrase “works of authorship” generally refers to creative works such as books, movies, scripts, computer software, sculptures, paintings, music, and lyrics, although myriad other works are also covered.
What is protected is the expression itself, not the idea underlying the expression. As a result, if you wrote a book that describes a conflict between two family members, you could not prevent another author from writing a book that also describes such a conflict. If the new book copied your precise language (in whole or in significant part), you might have some remedies against infringement under the Copyright Act – but note that what is protected is the way that you expressed the idea, not the underlying idea itself.
Trademarks (15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq.)
Generally, trademark law protects words, symbols, logos, sounds and other mechanisms of identifying brand names. The key to determining whether a particular mark has trademark value is whether or not consumers recognize it as identifying a single source of goods or services in the market. As a result, “use” of (or a bona fide “intent to use”) the mark in connection with particular goods or services governs the scope of the mark’s protection.
If a term is generic, it cannot act as a trademark or achieve federal registration, lacking any value as an indicator of source of goods or services. Beyond generic terms, various types of marks can be registered if certain circumstances exist, requiring an analysis of the underlying facts. A sliding scale describes the strength of these types of marks, ranging from merely descriptive on the one side (moderately strong source indicators) to arbitrary or fanciful on the other (very strong source indicators), with descriptive and suggestive marks falling in the middle.
How do Domain Names Fit into these Definitions?
Domain names are simply addresses at which a user of the Internet can locate a particular web site. They can be equated to mailing addresses or even 1-800 phone numbers and typically appear in a www.name.com or www.name.net (etc.) format. The domain names may contain trademarks or they may contain more generic or descriptive terms.
When a domain name contains a trademark owned by another, the trademark owner has several options to enforce his or her rights, including negotiations with the domain name owner, other pre-litigation strategies or ultimately, filing claims in either federal court (pursuant to the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125) or through a domain name dispute resolution provider (pursuant to the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy). Which forum is appropriate in a particular case depends on an analysis of the specific circumstances, but each option has specific benefits and detriments to proceeding within its boundaries.
Future blog entries will be based on new developments in these areas. Please let me know if you have comments or questions.