Legal Definitions - copyright and patent power

The term copyright and patent power refers to the exclusive authority granted to the U.S. federal government by the Constitution to establish and regulate systems for protecting original creative works and new inventions.

Specifically, Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution empowers Congress 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." This means the federal government is solely responsible for creating laws related to:

• Copyrights: Legal protection for original works of authorship, such as books, music, software, and art.
• Patents: Legal protection for new and useful inventions, processes, or designs.

This power is exclusively federal. States are preempted, meaning they cannot pass their own laws that create or regulate copyrights or patents. Furthermore, any legal disputes arising under federal copyright or patent law must be heard in federal courts, not state courts.

Here are some examples illustrating this power:

• Software Development and Copyright:

  Imagine a software developer in Oregon creates a groundbreaking new mobile application with unique features and code. To protect their work, the developer relies on federal copyright law. If a company in another state, say Florida, copies significant portions of the app's code or user interface, the Oregon developer would file a lawsuit in a federal court to enforce their copyright. The state of Oregon could not pass its own law offering a different or additional form of copyright protection for software, nor could the developer sue in an Oregon state court for copyright infringement, because the power to regulate copyrights and resolve such disputes rests solely with the federal government.

• Pharmaceutical Innovation and Patent:

  Consider a research team in North Carolina that invents a revolutionary new drug formula. To secure exclusive rights to their invention, they apply for a patent through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which is a federal agency. If a competitor in California attempts to manufacture or sell a drug using their patented formula without permission, the North Carolina team would seek legal action in a federal court to stop the infringement. This demonstrates that only the federal government has the authority to grant patents and resolve patent infringement cases, ensuring uniform protection for inventions across all states.

• State-Level Attempt to Create IP Law:

  Suppose the legislature of a particular state proposes a new law that would create a "state-specific design registry," offering exclusive rights to designers for a period longer than federal design patents, applicable only within that state's borders. This proposed state law would be immediately challenged and deemed unconstitutional. The "copyright and patent power" clause means that states are preempted from creating their own intellectual property systems that grant exclusive rights similar to federal copyrights or patents. Only the federal government has the authority to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts" through such exclusive rights, ensuring a consistent national framework for innovation and creativity.