I have an idea for specific type of greeting card.  Since it is
obviously not copyrighted yet I will provide an example of the idea in
a close analogy: A specific line of greeting card geared for kids in
summer camp to send home, for all occasions.  All the cards would have
the same motif, like a kid getting tangled in the rope ladder saying
he's having soooo much fun, or a kid looking at his plate of food and
there is an eye looking back up at him from his plate and he says
mom's cooking never looked so good.  I planned on having a specific
name for the cards, ex: campcards.  My questions are this:  Is such an
idea copyrightable at all?  should I get a patent instead? And
whichever is the best choice, what is the best way to go about making
it happen? (like find a patent lawyer in your area specializing in X
field).  Thank you in advance, researchers.

Dear perfshnerf-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.

Let us first discuss the difference between copyrights and patents:

Copyright gives a person the sole right to control and distribute work
that they have done and legally entitles only them to be the sole
party authorized receive payment for such work. Normally this is an
author, artist, journalist, programmer, etc.

Patents, on the other hand, give the owner exclusive legal rights to
the use of his idea, process, trade secret, device or invention for a
period of time. People often seek patents for new technology,
industrial processes, new improvements to existing systems (as long as
nobody has thought of them before). A person holding a patent may sue
or prosecute anyone else who makes anything that can be proven to be a
copy or resembling their idea so closely that it is clearly born of
their original concept without first getting permission from the
patent holder.

Another option available to you that you failed to inquire about is a
trademark. While a copyright protects original works of expression, a
trademark protects distinctive words, phrases, logos, symbols, slogans
and any other devices used to identify and distinguish products or
services in the marketplace. It also protects the product or service
name, graphics, logos and any slogans used in the advertising.

A trademark is, I believe, the protection you are probably best to
pursue. You will not be able to prevent people from designing cards
for kids to send home from camp if this turns out to be a lucrative
endeavor, but you can protect your catchy logo, slogan or other thing
that is unique to your idea from being used by others. What will this
do for you then? Simple - take a look at other items that have been
marketed and became household names. People rush out to buy “those”
items even though there are many others like them on the market. The
reason being is that the companies have spent millions to get their
name recognized and it pays off in big returns. If you want to impress
someone, you might not want to buy just any card, you might prefer to
get a Hallmark card. This is because Hallmark has spent millions of
dollars convincing you and everyone else that they are the best. Other
examples are Coca-Cola vs. RC Cola, Tylenol vs. Ibuprofen, and so on.
The trademark protects someone selling a similar item (which you are
not at liberty to prevent) from capitalizing on the money you have
spent on marketing your item and stealing your recognition, not your
idea. It does serve to discourage some people from trying to compete
with your product but it doesn’t necessarily stop them from trying to.

The answer to your last question then is this: find a lawyer in your
area who specializes in trademarks. When you do, you will probably
also find one who specializes in patent and copyright law as these
legal issues often go hand-in-hand.

Try this link for starters:

SWITCHBOARD.COM
http://www.switchboard.com/Find/Attorneys_Patent-Law.asp?LNK=65:13

Do yourself a huge favor though; avoid all those Internet related
businesses that offer to do the work for you for a fee. Some of them
aren’t very reliable and you may not be getting the protection you
think you are paying for. Make the calls and do the work yourself.
It’ll be worth the effort.

Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga


INFORMATION SOURCES

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COPYRIGHT AND PATENT?
http://modecideas.com/faq12.html?faqsubpat


HOW DOES TRADEMARK DIFFER FROM COPYRIGHT?
http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/faqs/detail.cfm/objectID/AAC160F3-CCDC-4C4A-9A92BB0A62CCF8DC/catID/D8932879-DC34-43DF-BF65FC92D55FEE5D#995A5039-4B54-4B79-A87065A73E4A0D06


WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PATENT AND TRADEMARK?
http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/faqs/detail.cfm/objectID/AAC160F3-CCDC-4C4A-9A92BB0A62CCF8DC/catID/D8932879-DC34-43DF-BF65FC92D55FEE5D#995A5039-4B54-4B79-A87065A73E4A0D06


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

COPYRIGHT

PATENT

TRADEMARK

Quick and complete.  Thank you very much tutuzdad.  Also thanks to
highroute for the additional comment.  Excellent work, guys.

I would respond to your questions as follows:

>> I planned on having a specific name for the cards, ex: campcards.
<<

The name you decide upon is the thing you would need to pursue a
trademark on. You obtain a trademark on a word or phrase or logo, like
the name "Coca-Cola" or "Hallmark". tutuzdad had addressed that issue
for you.

When you produce each individual card design, assuming that you are in
the United States of America (or another country that is party to the
Berne Convention on copyright), you will automatically hold copyright
on that design. Copyright applies to creative works, not to words or
phrases. You will, of course, need to take care not to infringe upon
the copyrights of others! See the Web site of the US Copyright Office
for detailed information on the subject of copyright:
  http://www.loc.gov/copyright/

Hi

Coyright can subsist only in an actual design (eg an actual drawing),
not in an abstract idea for one.  It's not clear from your question
whether you already have a finished design that you have created
yourself: if so, copyright will already subsist and you will be the
owner of it.

On the other hand, if you are going to commission a professional
designer to create the final design in accordance with your idea,
beware; the designer, not you may be the owner of the copyright.  Make
sure that as part of your commission you agree, in advance, that the
fee will include not only the final drawing itself but also assignment
of the designer's copyright.  You should have a proper contract drawn
up by an Intellectual Property specialist.

Hope that helps

Michael2