Copyright

is given to an author, artist, composer or programmer to exclude others from publishing or copyrighting literary, dramatic, musical, artistic or software works.

The type of works that copyright protects are:

1. original literary works, e.g. novels, instruction manuals, computer programs, lyrics for songs, articles in newspapers, some types of databases, but no names or titles;
2. original dramatic works, including works of dance or mime;
3. original musical works;
4. original artistic works, e.g. paintings, engravings, photographs, sculptures, collages, works of architecture, technical drawings, diagrams, maps, logos;
5. published editions of works, i.e. the typographical arrangement of a publication;
6. sound recordings, which may be recordings on any medium, e.g. tape or compact disc, and may be recordings of other copyright works, e.g. musical or literary;
7. films, including videos; and
8. broadcasts and cable programs.

So the above works are protected by copyright, regardless of the medium in which they exist and this includes the internet. You should also note that copyright does not protect ideas. It protects the way the idea is expressed in a piece of work, but it does not protect the idea itself.

There are five exclusive rights authors obtain with copyright protection:

• the right to reproduce the work
• the right to prepare derivative works based on the original
• the right to distribute copies to the public
• the right to perform the work publicly
• the right to display the work publicly.

Disclosure

an invention disclosure is a written record of a complete description of the invention and how it is made and used containing sufficient detail to permit a skilled reader to duplicate the invention and to describe the basic nature of the invention to an inexperienced reader.  The essential elements of a disclosure are a complete description of the invention, the inventor's dated signature, and dated signature of witnesses who fully understand the invention.

A disclosure serves three different purposes:

1. Serves as a vehicle to communicate the invention to the Office of Technology Transfer to initiate the evaluation process and provide a basis for recommendations on ownership, patenting and licensing actions.
2. Provides preliminary information to patent attorneys for a patent search and forms the basis of the patent application.
3. Serves as a witnessed invention record to help establish date of conception and/or reduction to practice in the event of a patent interference action.  Witnesses serve to corroborate the inventor in case of a patent interference action; the use of more than one person as a witness will be available if needed at a later date.

is any product of the human intellect that is unique, novel, and not obvious such as:

• an idea
• invention
• expression or literary creation
• unique name
• business method
• industrial process
• chemical formula
• computer program process
• presentation

Intellectual property has some value in the marketplace, and it can be reduced to tangible form, such as a computer, a process a chemical etc.

any new article, machine, composition or process or new use developed by a human.

A U.S. Patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor(s), issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A patent permits its owner to exclude members of the public from making, using, or selling the claimed invention. Most countries of the world have patent systems, although the patent terms and types of patents vary. There are 3 major types of patents:

Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or compositions of matters, or any new useful improvement thereof.

Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture.

Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant.

A Patent Application is a set of papers that describe an invention and that are suitable for filing in a patent office in order to apply for a patent on the invention.

is the process of formally transferring new discoveries and innovations that result from  research into the commercial sector.