BLSW can help you protect your intellectual property.
So you’ve completed your masterpiece. Perhaps it’s the perfect play or a brilliant building blueprint. You want to protect your creative genius from being used without your permission, but how do you know if it is eligible to be registered for copyright?
A copyright can protect “original works of authorship” that are permanent in a tangible form of expression. This means that copyrightable works can include:
- Literary works
- Musical works, including accompanying words
- Dramatic works, including accompanying music
- Pantomimes and choreographic works
- Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works
- Motion pictures and audiovisual works
- Sound recordings
- Architectural works
Think of these categories as broad interpretations; for instance maps and blueprints can be registered under “pictorial, graphic and sculptural works” and a computer program under “literary works.”
So what isn’t eligible? Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans, works consisting of purely common property with no original authorship, as well as works that have not been fixed in a tangible form expression (e.g., performances that have not been written or recorded)
If you wish to copyright your original work, or if you’ve already registered your work and someone has infringed upon your copyright, our lawyers at Business Law Southwest can help. Call us at 505-848-8581 to schedule a free consultation with an experienced New Mexico copyright attorney.
