Law Students' Corner
| Jurisdiction | United States,Federal |
| Citation | Vol. 90 No. 1 Pg. 52 |
| Pages | 52 |
| Publication year | 2021 |
Intellectual Property:
Always Around Us, But Rarely a Focal Point
by Paige Reese
The words I write about this topic-intellectual property. The drawing of our family that my cousin created - intellectual property. A new way to cook ramen and get back to studying faster-intellectual property. Those outlines law students labor over- intellectual property. Although many view intellectual property as something only an individual at a large technology company creates, it is all around us, and we generate it through everything we do. Despite this, intellectual property does not get the attention it deserves.
When writing, I typically like to include a quote that furthers my perspective in a profound way. However, when searching for quotes on intellectual property, I came up short. I became disheartened by this fact, because all I wanted was some sort of punchline to expand on. Then I realized, is that not my entire point? Intellectual property is a vital piece of our lives, but it is hardly mentioned. Some do not even know what the term "intellectual property" means, let alone what "copyrights," "trademarks," and "patents" protect.
Intellectual property takes three major forms: copyrights, patents, and trademarks. "Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device." [1] Copyrights protect works of authorship (ranging from books to movies, paintings to drawings, sheet music to lyrics).[2] Patents, on the other hand, are given to an individual who "invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof...." [3] In short, patents protect inventions. Lastly, trademarks typically protect logos and names for products.[4]
Although intellectual property is a major component of what we do in our lives, many law students and lawyers alike do not know any of the essential concepts of intellectual property. People immediately dismiss themselves as being able to understand it, as it is "too technical for them." Further, they assume they do not need to understand it anyway. However, this could not...
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