Google and Oracle are now in the U.S. Supreme Court over a copyright case that revolves around the use of computer code. It has to do with application programming interfaces (APIs) and thousands of lines of code that Google used, after it was written by programmers at Oracle, so that their phones could properly use Java.
Consider the trademarks that are most recognizable
If your company has a logo or other trademarked information that is instantly recognizable, it can work wonders for your brand. This is why you see advertising even for well-known companies that already make millions (or billions) in sales. They are striving to keep up brand awareness so that their logo is something people can identify without even consciously thinking about it.
What is a trade secret?
If you ask someone what a trade secret is, they may look at you as if the name is self-explanatory. It is a secret that is important to your company, in your trade. It's a critical piece of information that you don't want the competition to know so that you can keep your share of the market.
How long does patent and copyright protection last?
Obtaining a patent is expensive. Inventors and company product developers often have to spend $5,000-10,000 to protect their intellectual property with a patent. On the other hand, those who create creative works (manuscripts, articles, poems, photographs or songs) only have to pay between $45-125 to obtain a copyright.
If a song uses the same chord as another, is that theft?
Have you ever been listening to a song on the radio and thought that it sounded like a song you'd already heard? This is pretty common. You may think that one artist stole the idea or the music from the other.
