What Is Not Protected Under the Copyright Law?
Ideas, concepts, methods and systems are great to have but if you don't want others to use them, keep the works to yourself because they cannot be copyrighted. Why? They are intangible; they cannot be held in your hand and that---tangible things---is what is protected under copyright law. For more information on what cannot be copyrighted, review the United States Copyright Office's copyrights basics document called Circular1 but for a quick summary of what is not protected under copyright law, read on.
Other People Are Reading
-
Titles
-
You cannot copyright names or words representing people, places and things.
Domains
-
The text on a website can be copyrighted but the location of the website, which is sometimes called the URL, cannot be protected under copyright law.
-
Lists
-
Lists of words, numbers and symbols---recipe ingredients, for example---are ineligible for copyright law protection.
Branding
-
You cannot apply for copyright law protection for items commonly used to create a brand image such as a logo, slogan or tag line.
Symbols
-
Numbers and symbols do not qualify for copyright law protection.
-
