Who sets the policy for intellectual property?

Intellectual property laws do not fall in the category of criminal law. Some copyright laws authorize criminal penalties, but by and large, the body of intellectual property law is concerned with prevention and compensation, both of which are civil matters. This means that the artist, not the government, is responsible for enforcement. Intellectual property laws provide artists with the power to enforce their property rights in civil court. They provide for damages when unauthorized use or misuse has occurred. They also provide forinjunctions, or court orders, to prevent unauthorized use or misuse.

The bulk of intellectual property law is contained in federal statutes. Copyrights are protected by the Copyright Act (17 U.S.C.A. § 101 et seq. [1994]), patents are covered in the Patent Act (35 U.S.C.A. § 101 et seq. [1994]), and trademark protection is provided by the Lanham Act (also known as the Trademark Act) (15 U.S.C.A. § 1501 et seq. [1994]). Intellectual property laws give artists the exclusive right to profit from their work for a particular limited period. For copyrighted material, the exclusive right lasts for fifty years beyond the death of the author. The length of the right can vary forpatents, but in most cases it lasts for twenty years. Trademark rights are exclusive for ten years, and can be continually renewed for subsequent ten-year periods. |5|

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