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Current funding for the Gi21 program ended on September 30, 2008 and the information found in the program modules is up-to-date as of December 31, 2008.  To facilitate use of the modules from now till the future continuation of the program, new documents can be posted from each module and sub-module main pages and the community discussions are open.  However the main module pages and documents will not be updated.  If you have any questions, please contact Kirsten Clark.

Many people confuse the three main aspects of intellectual property law - copyrights, trademarks, and patents. This section will briefly explain what sorts of work each of those aspects protects, and provide you with information and sources regarding how patrons can protect each type of work.

For a quick reference chart which explains the coverage of each area of intellectual property law, see http://www-wsl.state.wy.us/sis/ptdl/IPchart.html.

For more information, librarians and the public can contact:

• Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries throughout the United States with any questions about the resources described or to get help with legal resources related to patents and trademarks.
• U.S. Copyright Officeat the Library of Congress for specific details and forms relating to copyright.

Training materials related to this subtopic are incorporated into the Training Materials section on the main Legal Information Module page.