Copyright Words

June 24, 2009
Intellectual Property News and Interesting Facts

Typically, a work must meet minimal standards of originality in order to qualify for copyright, and the copyright expires after a set period of time (some jurisdictions may allow this to be extended).

Different countries impose different tests, although generally the requirements are low; in the United Kingdom there has to be some ‘skill, labour and judgment’ that has gone into it.

In Australia and the United Kingdom it has been held that a single word is insufficient to comprise a copyright work.

However, single words or a short string of words can sometimes be registered as a trademark instead.

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