Assignment - transfer by a copyright holder of all right, title and interest in a work, including copyright.
Copyright - a means of protecting the rights of authors in literary,
artistic and visual works against unauthorized copying of the
copyrighted work.
Copyright Infringement - unauthorized reproduction
of a copyrighted work in a copy that is substantially similar in
appearance to the copyrighted work.
Copyright Notice - a designation placed on copies of copyrighted
works to identify a claim of copyright in the work consisting of the
word "Copyright" or (C), the year of publication and the name of the
copyright owner.
Fair Use - use or reproduction of
a copyrighted work for purposes such as criticism, comment, news
reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use),
scholarship, or research.
License - unlike an assignment that transfers full
ownership of a copyrighted work, a license is a grant (with or without
royalty) from a copyright owner permitting another to exercise one of
the owner's rights to exploit a copyrighted work; title to the work
remains with the copyright owner; and the permission to use he
copyrighted work ends when the license expires.
Patent - a means of protecting new
and useful, novel and non-obvious inventions by excluding others from
making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention claimed in
the patent.
Permission - consent (preferably written) from a copyright owner to reproduce all or part of a copyrighted work.
Public Domain Work - a work that is no longer protected by copyright and that can be freely copied by all.
Trademark/Service Mark - a word,
name, symbol or device that is used in connection with a product or
service to indicate their source and to distinguish them from the goods
or services of others.
