ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses trademark law, which prohibits companies from confusing the public about the origin of a product. Intellectual property was protected in the Constitution before adoption of the First Amendment. Article I, Section 8, recognizes two kinds of intellectual property: inventions and writings. In the United States, the first federal copyright law was adopted in 1790. Copyrightable works of authorship include literary, musical, dramatic, audio-visual, pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works. Once likely infringement is established, a court may enjoin dissemination of the infringing copies. Downloading copyrighted music or file sharing without payment is a direct infringement. The fair-use doctrine creates an exception to the law prohibiting unauthorized copying of copyrighted expression. Misappropriation is the unauthorized taking of the benefit of someone else's investment of time, effort, and money. Trademarks and service marks have value as intellectual property because they represent a portion of the goodwill of a company.
