Money & the Law

Money & the Law intersect in many interesting and often controversial ways. Check out the Money & the Law channel to see what happens when these two powerful forces cooperate or collide.

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Copyrights are the one of the only forms of intellectual property that have historical basis in the Constitution. All other forms rely on common or statutory law for enforcement. Learn how they work.

By Thomas L. Peterson

A trademark is concerned with a company's need to identify its goods or services among its customers and potential customers. Trademarks, such as Nike or Coca Cola, are known throughout the world.

By Thomas L. Peterson

The phrase intellectual property (IP) refers to the bundle of legal rights that arise from the creative genius of the human mind. Intellectual property has become an issue as the digital music market expands. Learn how it works.

By Thomas L. Peterson

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The inventor's best friend (or worst enemy) is the patent system: If you're the first to come up with an idea, it's yours. But, if somebody beat you to it, it's back to the drawing board. Learn about patents.

By Tom Harris

Companies, such as Coke, are famous for protecting their "trade secret." What exactly is a trade secret and is it any different from patents? Find out the answer to this question in this article.

On the first or second page of many books, near the copyright notice, there is often a series of numbers that go "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1". Why are these numbers there?

Why are most national contests in the United States, void in Rhode Island? And what does "void where prohibited" mean? Also, why are these contests open only to U.S. (and sometimes Canadian) residents?

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Notations for copyrights and patents can be found on every single product you buy at the store. In this article, you can find out what copyrights and patents are, and how they differ from each other.