Exactly What Do I Want To Copyright?

Oh, there's just dozens of things in the Public Domain. The copyright symbol, for one. I don’t see a copyright symbol after it, which leads me to believe it’s not legally protected. Think of how many times you see it and if I copyright it at a royalty of one cent per use, you are set for life. This life and the one to come.

The trademark symbol is another one. You never see a “TM” after the “TM” and so I can Trademark it with the standard royalty charge.

You know what’s available for the asking? Traffic lights, that’s what. There may be laws about the various colors (remember the white “walk” light at the bottom of the stack?) and how they are lined up, but I’ve never seen any protection note which says “unauthorized duplication of these lights prohibited by law.”

My advice to readers of this blog is to go around and copyright or trademark everything they see which is still in the public domain (P.D. = not otherwise claimed by anyone). File a TM on the center and side lines of every street in your town. Ka-CHING! Direct deposit to your bank, automatic payments to your favorite cruise line.

That’s my plan for a huge retirement account. Every time someone uses a symbol, then copyright or trademark the symbol. Your fortune is made and you can retire to your lakeside home, liquid refreshment of your choice in your hand, and enjoy the good life that came from reading this blog. (Copyright and TM 2011 by Tom Carten.)