Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: copyright

Your copyright protects you against financial loss and other harm from someone unfairly reproducing or otherwise using your creative work, apparently now existing in the form of a five-page document. One cannot copyright individual words. Further, it is highly doubtful that a copyright will ever give any exclusive right to anyone for two consecutive words. For example, Emily Bronte could have copyrighted her novel, but it's unlikely the copyright would give her exclusive use of the expression "wuthering heights."

Re: copyright

Mr. Whipple said it as well as I could.

A distinctive phrase or combination of wordscould, however, if sufficiently distinctive, be entitled to protection as a trademark, but only in connection with specific goods or services. So, to use Mr. Whipple's example, Ms. Bronte might (now that her book is famous) be able to prevent publication of a competing book, story, film, play, etc. entitled "Wuthering Heights".