Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

How you file depends. Perhaps a collection filing would be appropriate, but there are some conditions such as no one piece can be "published" before that filing.

Copyright protection affixes automatically in the US and then you prefect those rights with a timely filing with the US Copyright Office. This registration affords certain valuable rights such as the right to access the federal courts, the right to seek statutory damages in infringement cases (sometimes the only meaningful damages available), the right to seek attorney fees among others.

Copyright protects original works of authorship reduced to some creative expressive format. You cannot protect an "idea" in any way. If I too wish to create a blanket for all abbreviations I am free to do that so long as mine is not a derivative of yours or "substantially similar." Of course, you would also have to show that I actually had access to your work as well.

Perhaps it would be in your interests to consult a IP lawyer first so you are clear on all the issues. If you would like to discuss further over a free phone consult, feel free to contact me anytime that is convenient.

Our firm is now referred by the American Bar Association (see under the New York section):

http://www.americanbar.org/groups/delivery_legal_services/resources/programs_to_help_those_with_moderate_income.html

Kind regards,

Frank

www.LanternLegal.com

866-871-8655

[email protected]

DISCLAIMER: this is not intended to be specific legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. No attorney-client relationship is formed on the basis of this posting.