The Preface of my book Guiding Rights: Trademarks, Copyright and the Internet opens with the following quote:
"They can't do that. We have a patent on the copyright in that trademark."
I use it as an example of the general confusion surrounding intellectual property rights, which I call "an increasingly regrettable situation" as these rights gain importance in our modern times.
Another example of this confusion is the following headline - No Patent on 'You're Fired' - posted today at www.thestate.com for Eric Dash's otherwise fine New York Times Article mentioned here yesterday.
Of course, "patents" do not protect words or phrases, just as "trademarks" do not protect inventions.
But perhaps I'm just being too picky or spending too much time listening to Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes.
