Copyright Law

No matter what you have heard (10%, 300 words, 3 pages, etc etc) there is no set amount of a copyrighted work that can be used before an infringement exists. Each instance is judged on a case-by-case basis.

Software is protected by copyright (as a "literary work"), but can also receive a patent if it is exceptionally innovative.

Most if not all companies have some sort of trademark(over their name, logo, slogan, etc.). Depending on their activities, they may also have one or more patents, and may control a number of copyrights. In the US, copyright is covered by US Code Title 17 and administered by the Copyright Office (within the Library of Congress), and trademarks and patents are covered by US Code Title 37 and administered by the Patent and Trademark Office (within the Department of Commerce). Other countries have all three forms of intellectual property handled by one office.

No you cannot, at least not in the Untied States. Under current US copyright law names, titles, slogans, logos , mottoes, and common words/phrases are not eligible for copyright protection. Under certain circumstances however they can be registered as trademarks

In the United States, a copyright notice consists of three elements::

1. the © symbol (in some cases (c) is substituted), the word "Copyright" or abbreviation "Copr.";

2. the first year of publication; and

3. the owner of the copyright, either by name, abbreviation, or other designation.

Copyright protection is automatic, so it actually takes effort not to copyright something you create. That being said, copyright allows the creator to ascribe value do and potentially derive income from their creation.

Answer

Every State in the United States has their own Copyright offices. If you go to search on your browser, and type in copyright offices for Ohio as an example the offices will be listed. There are no local copyright offices in the United States. Copyright is available only through the US Copyright Office in Washington. http://www.copyright.gov

If you live in Canada, there is only one copyright office and it's in Ottawa and yes it's listed on the Internet

No; it will be protected through 2055.

Yes but as with most legal questions, with qualifications.

Prior to the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act of 1990, signed into law by then President Bush, only the original architectural designs & drawings were protected by copyright. No protection was afforded to the physical building itself. This was changed when the new law provided for copyright protection to be extended to "design embodied in the drawings or building as architectural work."

Note that this does not give someone carte blanche on any/all buildings constructed prior to 1990 there are still trademark protections that may apply as well as trespass laws protection private property.

If any descendents of Shakespeare were to surface and be able to prove their connection, they would have no claim whatsoever to ownership of any rights over Shakespeare's plays. They are in the public domain, and were written before any copyright law existed.

But various publishers may have rights over the use of their printed versions of Shakespeare's material. Study versions, or editions with special illustrations can't simply be freely shared just because authorship rights no longer exist.

Yes, if they are sufficiently original, if there is reason to believe no-one would find the combination of words too short or simple and obvious. Copyright started with words, protecting ownership of books and other "copy".

It is important to recognise copyright in order to prevent other people from trying to copy the original idea that is being protected by rights of law or any of it's features. This is frequently seen in big major companies such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola etc. where all their products are copyrighted and trademarked in order to prevent other companies from copying their ideas and forming their versions of the same products.

Contact the copyright holder or administrator. Many companies have simple online forms for requesting permission. Even if they don't, it's best to do this in writing for record-keeping purposes. You will want to be very specific about your intended use.

Many copyright laws are severely outdated, and need to be significantly revised to reflect current technology. All too often, lawmakers attempt to relate new media to old: they want to treat YouTube like television, Rhapsody like radio, and iTunes like a record store. This may appear to work superficially, but leaves entirely too many questions open.

This type of bibliographical information is generally on the copyright page, on the reverse of the title page.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html#section8

The Congress shall have power [...] To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;

Intellectual property laws apply on the internet. Just because something is on the internet does not mean it is in the public domain. Copyright still exists on anything created and posted on the internet, unless specified otherwise.

For the most part, digital media is treated as its rough equivalent in physical media; both are covered by the same laws. Thus, digital works of sufficient originality are automatically protected as soon as they are fixed in a tangible medium, giving the creator the exclusive right to copy, alter, distribute, or perform/display the work, or authorize others to do so, for a limited time.

Yes, in certain situations such as scholarship and critique.

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office:

A Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of 'original works of authorship' including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly.

The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Copyrights are registered by the Library of Congress' Copyright Office.

There are times when you may desire a combination of copyright, patent and trademark protection for your work. You should consult an attorney to determine what forms of intellectual property protection are best suited to your needs.

Requirements for writing becoming public domain:

The work was created and first published before January 1, 1923, or at least 95 years before January 1 of the current year, whichever is later;The last surviving author died at least 70 years before January 1 of the current year;If either of these are met a work becomes public domain.

The poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling was written in 1910. This meets the first requirement. Kipling died in 1936 meeting the requirement of the second condition. (Note both do not need to be met just one)

You can register it as a trademark in each country in which you intend to do business.

Different jurisdictions have various opinions on when the song "Happy Birthday to You" will enter the public domain. In European Union (EU) countries the copyright in the song will expire December 31, 2016 however the current copyright holder, Walter Chappel, claims that based on his 1935 purchase of the rights the copyright won't expire until 2030.