Timothy Lee Wherry

"It starts by identifying the various types of intellectual property rights--i.e. Patents, Copyright, and Trademark.

Copyright are exclusive rights given to the authors of those manifestations (not work which is the idea or thought content) which are fixed to some tangible material but doesn't function in itself. In other words those tangible materials who are functionless or useless. Any work published before 1923 is out in public domain, those published in between 1923 to 1978 are initially protected for 28 years which can be renewed for more 47 years which means in all 75 years but Sonny Bono act which was passed in 1998 has added 20 years more to those manifestations since rock band artists who died young but their works were still popular. Anything published after 1978 has a copyright period of 70 years after the oldest living authors.

Patent last for 20 years only, it is product which not only must be tangible but of some use as well i.e it must have utility(mechanical, chemical, electrical) or unique design, or on plants(man's direct interference with natural products to develop some artificial plants). Under US patent law the creation must be so unique that it mustn't be found in any prior work before it, so the patentee must either self verify the originality of the item he claims unique by searching patents on www.uspto.gov or hire an patent lawyer or agent(expert in searching and legal issues but hasn't passed the bar exam)

Trademark although last for lifetime since no trademark is in public domain, it must be renewed after every 10 years. A trademark registered is marked with R in circle, but which is not registered is marked by TM. Those trademarks that are for services are usually recognized by SM if not registered otherwise its R again. Trademark is provided for slogans, words etc which is used to identify the product or service that company renders.

It is a must read for librarians since it gives a step by step guide to search a patent or trademark. Also the author anticipates questions likely to be asked by the users and so clarifies many issues in a Question-Answer format at the end of each chapter.… (mehr)

This book has its heart in the right place, and isn't a bad guide for someone who seeks a very general grasp of the issues, without a particularly detailed -- or accurate -- grasp of the specifics. Unfortunately, it can't be relied on by anybody seeking more than that -- if you're looking to really understand copyright doctrine, you need to go elsewhere; this book is materially inaccurate in more than one place.

For example, the discussion of the expiration of copyright term is conflated with the fair use discussion. Wherry states (p.21) that the one sure way to be certain that a work passes the fair use factors is if it has passed into the public domain. This is wrong, and confusing. If a copyright has expired, the work is in the public domain; no copyright applies, and therefore no fair use analysis is even necessary. Here, Wherry is using 'fair use' as a synonym for 'lawful use', which is confusing enough, but elsewhere in the discussion he actually spells out the four fair use factors -- lending the entire discussion a legally sophisticated patina it honestly should not have.

In smaller, more nuanced ways, as well, the discussion can be off. For instance, on page 17 he states that fair use is 'the most important' copyright doctrine for librarians and educators. I get what he's trying to do here, and it's commendable to properly place fair use in the educational canon. The problem is that, for instance, Section 109 (the first sale doctrine) is utterly fundamental to libraries. It just doesn't make sense to try to do a 'most important' comparison, and it will be confusing to someone who's trying to get an accurate, balanced picture of the educational copyright context.

Similarly, statements like 'Note that all four factors carry equal weight in determining fair use' (p.20) are also, to varying degrees, off. For instance, it is widely held in the caselaw, and supported by quantitative research, that the fourth factor is the most important; and the first factor is almost as important, or becoming more important; and the second factor is often stated outright to be of little importance. He's trying to emphasize that the fair use doctrine is a multi-factor test, and what that means, which is good; but he does so with some inaccurate statements.

Unfortunately, as a copyright/fair use attorney and librarian, I cannot recommend this book.… (mehr)