Patent, Copyright & Trademark: An Intellectual Property Desk Reference

The most concise and comprehensive explanations of intellectual property law available! Whether you're an Edison, Faulkner or Jobs, you need Patent, Copyright & Trademark. Intellectual property law has rapidly produced its own language. But don't count on understanding it right off the bat -- the language baffles lawyers and lay folk alike. Whether you're an inventor, designer, writer or programmer, you need to understand the language of intellectual property law to intelligently deal with such issues as:

who owns creative works or valuable information how these owners can protect and enforce their ownership rights

how disputes between intellectual-property owners can be resolved

how ownership rights can best be transferred to others

and many more With this essential guide, you will:

get clear overviews of relevant laws

understand the different kinds of protection offered by patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets -- and which apply to your work

get a plain-English definition of every term you're likely to come across

find the information you need, quickly and easily -- all entries are organized by topic and extensively cross-referenced The 9th edition is completely updated to provide the latest law and court decisions, new definitions and additional resources. It also covers new topics such as ''patent trolls'' and the Supreme Court's decision in KSR v. Teleflex.