In some cases, these things may be protected as trademarks. How do I copyright a name, title, slogan, or logo?Ĭopyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. Patent & Trademark Office, or see Circular 33 " Copyright Protection Not Available for Names, Titles, or Short Phrases". Some names may be protected under trademark law. Names are not protected by copyright law. See Circular 33, Works Not Protected by Copyright. Note that if you have secret ingredients to a recipe that you do not wish to be revealed, you should not submit your recipe for registration, because applications and deposit copies are public records. However, where a recipe or formula is accompanied by substantial literary expression in the form of an explanation or directions, or when there is a collection of recipes as in a cookbook, there may be a basis for copyright protection. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a nonprofit organization that has assumed the responsibility for domain name system management, administers the assigning of domain names through accredited registers.Ī mere listing of ingredients is not protected under copyright law.
Procedures for registering the contents of a website may be found in Circular 66, Copyright Registration of Websites and Website Content.Ĭopyright law does not protect domain names. This includes writings, artwork, photographs, and other forms of authorship protected by copyright. The original authorship appearing on a website may be protected by copyright. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section " What Works Are Protected." Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture.