I've always thought of music as the quintessential copyright industry. Trademark law plays a role too, in connection with band and company names. But patent law? The connection between patents and music passed me by, as it apparently did others as well. In a post titled Patents in the Music Industry: An Underutilized Competitive Advantage, Bryan Jaketic, an associate in the Benesch law firm, notes how few patents have been sought by music equipment manufacturers, and says that "This ambivalence towards patents is akin to a music publisher only registering copyrights for a fraction of its catalog." (If you or your clients are music publishers or record companies, you'll be relieved to note that Mr. Jaketic focuses on the value of patents for music equipment manufacturers. It doesn't appear that publishers or record companies need patent lawyers, yet.)
3/16/2011
Patents in the music industry
I've always thought of music as the quintessential copyright industry. Trademark law plays a role too, in connection with band and company names. But patent law? The connection between patents and music passed me by, as it apparently did others as well. In a post titled Patents in the Music Industry: An Underutilized Competitive Advantage, Bryan Jaketic, an associate in the Benesch law firm, notes how few patents have been sought by music equipment manufacturers, and says that "This ambivalence towards patents is akin to a music publisher only registering copyrights for a fraction of its catalog." (If you or your clients are music publishers or record companies, you'll be relieved to note that Mr. Jaketic focuses on the value of patents for music equipment manufacturers. It doesn't appear that publishers or record companies need patent lawyers, yet.)