Copyrighting Your Technical Drawings

Copyrights protect literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. They can extend to any "works of an author." They protect written manuscripts, pictures, photographs, tape recordings, sculptures, computer programs, technical drawings etc. This can be interpreted to include just about any product that is manufactured and sold so long as it has some copyrightable elements of expression. Unlike patents, there is no requirement that the work be different from others; there must be a degree of originality, but there is no requirement that the work must be fresh and new or have artistic merit.

Copyright prevents others from copying, distributing copies, or making new works that incorporate substantial parts of the original copyrighted work. In some instances it even protects the work from public display or performance.

Copyright has a limited scope that only protects the expression of a work, not the ideas, inventions, discoveries, procedures, or processes. A good example is provided by Steven A. Swernofsky in "The Basics of Copyright" Dream Merchant magazine:

"If you express your idea in a book detailing an ideal diet plan for software engineers who feast only on soft drinks and pizza, the expression is well-protected against copying. However, anyone can read the book and express the ideas (your ideas) in their own way. The words you wrote, the illustrations you drew, and the organization of your book would be copyrightable, but the "ideas" supporting your diet plan (and even the actual plan itself) would not be copyrightable.... The ideas you express, are not protected by copyright and thus remain open for others to exploit, even if you are the first to have those ideas."

Copyright does not protect the features of a product even if those features are needed in order to make the product as good as it is. While competitors may have to make their product look substantially different than yours, they will be able to copy the "features" of your product.

A copyright has the word "copyright" or the symbol C, the proprietor's name and the year of first publication. They are registered in the:

Because there are several different types of copyright forms, not all are included. We chose to include the "VA" (Visual Arts) copyright form because it is the one must often used.

In executing a copyright form VA, drawings of your idea will most likely have to be made. If you have someone other than yourself do these drawings, please be aware that they - - not you - - own the copyright unless a contract outlining you as the sole owner has been executed. An example of such a contract is included in this packet for your use.

Adapted from: Inventor's Packet, developed by Bill Gregory and Charlotte Kuchinsky

Click here for Copyright forms

Click here for Technical Drawing Contract

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