While most readers will know the difference between a patent, a trademark and a copyright, the proper interplay between the law in these three disciplines is not always easy to decipher. At least that is what the 9th Circuit is finding out as its decision in Fleischer Studio, Inc. v. A.V.E.L.A., Inc. et al., is being roundly criticized by a high powered group including the NFL, Major League Baseball and the Motion Picture Association of America.

Patents and Copyrights

The U.S.Constitution authorizes Congress “to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. Pursuant to this grant, Congress set up the copyright system, to protect works of authorship, and the patent system, to protect inventions. Per the Constitution, copyrights and patents must be of “limited duration.” This means that all copyrights and patents eventually expire, leaving the copyrighted works and patented inventions in the public domain. Generally, patent terms run twenty years from the date of a patent application. Copyright terms have been adjusted a number of times over the years, but an author creating a work today will have exclusive rights to the work for his or her lifetime, plus 70 years.