Kid's books about Copyright Law?

[lizbusby]

This is a long shot, but does anyone know of children's books (up to mid-elementary) on copyright law? My 5 year old is OBSESSED with the little TM and C and R next to things. I've explained things the best I can, but I'd love more resources.

[Tracy]

I can't help you with kids' books, but I used to work with IP attorneys.  My job was to apply for and maintain all of our company's trademarks.  

 

The R with a circle around it means it is a trademark that is registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office, giving that company exclusive use of that trademark.  A TM means that the company claims a trademark that is not yet registered (though probably applied for).  A trademark is a picture or words that represent a company's product.  If someone else uses your trademark, you can sue them in court.  You can go to the USPTO site I linked and search for trademarks.  It will give you the date that trademark was first used, what types of products it is registered for, and who owns the trademark.  Just be careful what you search for, because when I put in the Kix cereal my kids ate this morning, I got all kinds of things I wouldn't want my kids to see. :glare:  I had better luck with Fruit Loops.   :thumbup1:

 

The C with a circle around it means it is copyrighted work of art.  We most often think of it in terms of literature, but it is also used for visual art, such as painting, drawings, and photographs.  So in a book, you might see the copyright symbol at the front of the book, which means no one else can copy the text of the book.  And then you may see it again in the book with reference to the pictures, meaning the illustrator or photography has a separate copyright for those pictures.