Patent, Copyright & Trademark: An Intellectual Property Desk Reference

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 and concise overviews of patent copyright, trademark and trade secret law *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

Exhaustively updated, the 7th edition provides expanded information on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Madrid Protocol, Open Source, and Copy Left movements, as well as the latest law and court decisions that affect how you protect your intellectual property.