No publication or registration or other action of the copyright office is required to secure copyright protection, nor must the work be marked with a copyright notice. The old laws still apply to works created before 1978. Generally, the copyright owner has exclusive rights to use the copyrighted material, including any derivative uses. A patented invention must be novel, non-obvious and useful. Under U.S. law, a patent must be filed within one year of publication.
Most foreign countries require that a patent be filed before publication.
For more information, see the University of Kentucky Patent Primer .