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Copyright was a topic recently on a forum I'm a member of. While reading the different member posts I realized that some people may be confused about the differences between copyrights, patents, and trademarks.
What can be copyrighted per the US Patent and Trademark Office website:
protect works of authorship, such as writings, music, and works of art that have been tangibly expressed.
In our web world this might include our own photographs, articles and other text on our websites and blogs. For site designers it would include coding to make specific graphics/designs, etc. on your website templates, etc.(html coding in general cannot be copyrighted, but the coding in a specific order to make graphics/designs in your templates can be copyrighted)
The definition of "patent" from the US Patent and Trademark Office website:
a property right granted by the Government of the United States of America to an inventor “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted.
So if you created any original items to sell on your website you would need to have it patented to keep others from copying your original item and selling it on their website, etc. Or you might have created a mechanical item to manufacture your product and you could have apply for a patent on that mechanical item.
The US Patent and Trademark Office website defines a "trademark" as:
protect words, names, symbols, sounds, or colors that distinguish goods and services from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source of the goods. Trademarks, unlike patents, can be renewed forever as long as they are being used in commerce.
In your biz world you could apply for a trademark for your biz name, the "name" of the brilliant product you have created to sell in your web world whether it is a physical item or a service, etc.
For more info on copyrights, trademarks, or getting a patent visit the US Patent and Trademark Office website. http://www.uspto.gov/index.jsp
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