In the past, patents were probably the most important for the University, but copyrights are now also extremely important. Patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets are used primarily to protect a product or process - it is our right to use and license University of Florida technology and generate licensing income, including royalties on sales. Such income may provide a source of funds for additional research and support for the technology transfer infrastructure. The University's intellectual property has to be something which a corporation considers extremely valuable and really desires. In order to obtain patent protection, an invention must be new or novel , useful , and unobvious, to someone skilled in the art .
Copyrights fall in the category of authorship.
A copyright applies to an original embodiment, but it does not have to be novel or unique in a patent sense. Copyright protection prevents other from copying it. A copyright comes into existence immediately at the time you put the work in writing or other tangible form. You can defend it by registering it with the Library of Congress. Copyrights can protect a book, computer software, videotape, musical score, work of art, etc.