Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!MITRE.ARPA!mcgurrin
From: mcgurrin@MITRE.ARPA
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: Copyrighting Icons
Message-ID: <8804221603.AA01238@mitre.arpa>
Date: 22 Apr 88 16:03:23 GMT
References: <3889@killer.UUCP>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The MITRE Corp., Washington, D.C.
Lines: 6

Although anything can happen when judges try to apply the law to things they
know nothing about, I suspect that if there are only 200-300 viable icons that
cover similar items that look meaningful, then they will not be copyrightable.
The analogy is titles of works, where short expressions cannot be copyrighted
as unique works of the author.  The same applies to short sayings on audio-visual
works (such as an expression on a T-shirt design).  Slogans may be trademarked,
but that's a whole different area.