Do you think that in future new words can be patented/copyrighted?

Question

This sounds crazy but my prediction is that there will a market in future for "words" so that you can own/patent the new words you create. In th past, physical products were first to be patented followed by copyright intangible items (like software, songs, writings). The next to be patented will be words just like your name which is patented in your birth certificate/ID/passport. In future, you can license new words so that those who use it will have to pay you a fee. It sounds ridiculous rubbish but remember Einstein once said that we cannot solve problems with same level of thinking now. What seems crazy today will be not be so crazy in future.

Fess, I won't charge $0.05 for you, haha
cvq...I mean a broad commoditised market system which applies to any use of that word.in written material like what Fess said. Presently, words/brandnames you mention disallows usage in some instances only. So a journalist can write Coca-Cola or McDonalds in their article but don't have to pay :)

Answer 1

You can now. Pat Riley owns the copywrite to "Threepeat"

And the NFL owns the rights to "Superbowl".

Answer 2

I don't agree because words come into the English (and any other) language almost everyday, It's only when these words become poplar enough to be used by a large number of people that they "officially" become part of the language. For example, the word "Skosh" is used everyday and most understand its meaning to be "a small amount". It didn't enter into the English language until the mid to late sixties after service men returned from the far-east conflict.
Inventing a word can be done but what good will it be if nobody uses it and if nobody uses it what good will a patent on it do, (that is, how will you make money off of it). Since patent and copyrights are filed so no one else can use your "intellectual property" without your permission and you are compensated if they do.
So basically, by filing a patent or copyright on a "word" you come up with would effectively close it off from popular usage and a "word" not used as such to be designated a "non-word"

Answer 3

This of course is absurd. You can patent anything you want but you cannot restrict free speech. The right to talk about things is a more fundamental right than your right to make money off of your own ideas. Furthermore, even if you could patent a word and demand royalties from its use it would not do you any good. What would prevent me from making up a different word with the same meaning and giving it away for free? Dont try to tell me you would have an exclusive right to attach a word to an idea you thought up because then there would be no way to write about or discuss in public the idea your word defines without paying you for it, and then you would be committing an even more egregious violation of free speech rights, i. e. restricting the right of the citizenry to discuss ideas. This kind of scheme would never be sanctioned by the court system. The whole notion of patenting words is Orwellian.

Answer 4

Realistically, it aint gonna happen. Who will collect for you?
Look at music and downloads. So many composers have rights to their creations, but the downloading goes on unabated.
Some experts say that the truth of the matter is that nothing is new in the universe. It is all just a matter of time that we "stumble" into something that had been there forever, and that makes it "new" again
As we speak there are already some enterprising people who are attempting to patent someone elses family genetic structure or a weed from some country where the locals had shown them the medicinal properties.
Greed? Yup. Uh huh. You got it.

Answer 5

We already have this protection now, through the trademark system!

If I created a computer program, I would have a legal fight on my hands if I called it "Yahoo". My recipe for jalapeno cola could not be called "Dr. Pepper". My own company has trademarked its brand names, but also some of the names of the new concepts that we have developed, the key vocabulary that we use for our products.

Personal names are already have limited protection, particularly if you make money on your name. For example, if you are a Donald Trump impersonator (for parties, weddings, etc.), or if you are in the real estate business, then you cannot legally change your name to "Donald Trump". Otherwise, there are very few and practical limitations on changing your name. Other folks notable for selling their name include sports stars (Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods), designers (Ralph Lauren, Karl Lagerfeld), and performers (Paul Newman salad dressing, Kenny Roger's chicken restaurants).

My "boss" of sorts did the first academic study of another type of name protection: internet domain names. Example: how much should the domain "answers.com" be worth? The study is a full academic study - do not drive or operate heavy machinery while reading. I can send you an abstract upon request.

Answer 6

cvq3842 has it right. There are fair-use exceptions to all of the laws that govern public use. A news story would qualify. If a word were as strictly limited as you're imagining, there would be no use for it. If people couldn't speak or write about something without paying to mention it, we would either break the law constantly and flagrantly, or we'd invent a substitute word.

One's name is certainly not in any way "patented" on your birth certificate. If it were, there wouldn't be all those people named "Robert Jones" running around simultaneously, with the younger ones paying licensing fees to the oldest one.

Answer 7

If I recall right, Pat Riley patented or copyrighted the word three-peat. I do think that you are correct but for that to take place you would have to patent/copyright your word when you think of it. If you start to use it and your buddy starts using it and he passes it to another friend, you would have no way to prove that you thought of the word and would'nt have a legal leg to stand on. In music if you copy one note out of a piece that's copy right infringement but that is so hard to prove that no one can possibly prove that that note came out of their song. Same with a single word. And most of the time people are not even thinking about copyrighting a word, they're just looking for a way to describe something. If I was you, I'd just make up some words and see if can you do it. Try moomby.

Answer 8

Nope.

The English language is a borrowed language in and of itself. The whole notion that new words can be copyrighted is absurd.

Monetizing the English vocabulary is NOT a good idea overall. America's literacy rate is already abominable and to even think about charging a usage fee for speaking a certain term or expression, only deters the speaker from using it. This may, in fact, become a catalyst for further degradation of American literacy.

And finally, copyrighting the English language is a direct violation of ONE of the main principles of the American Constitution,

"FREEDOM of SPEECH"

In essence, if I am excised a fee, in any shape, form, or fashion to express my thoughts into words, than how "free" am I in terms of my speech? I should be able to use any word I wish to as long as it doesn't cause undue physical harm to the person(s) I am addressing.

I will let you discuss this amongst yourselves.

Answer 9

Very good question. My guess is yes it will happen, but only when the technology to police it comes about. This will happen fairly soon, I'm guessing it will be in ten years time. Currently word processing has to be done on a computer, but soon it will have to be have to done on-line. When you type a word onto the computer it will have a number attached to it, and every word will be registered in a special on-line dictionary with an accompanying tax rate. So certain words will be cheaper than others, the words "they" don't want you to use because they have a reading age above 10 will be expensive, sorry, cost more, and those under a reading age of 10 will be cheaper.

Answer 10

Brand Names are Words and they are Copyrighted, Novels are full of words and the method by which they are strung together is Copyrighted.
The Journalist can refer to Copyrighted words, but that is far different than using those same words on a product that is for sale. The two items do not compute.

Answer 11

It's not crazy at all - it's happening now. Think about it -- brand names and trademarks ARE words - protected words. Thing is, trademarking doesn't always protect a word. Grab a Kleenex and Xerox it if you don't believe me. Companies work hard to protect their brand words, but it's an uphill battle - Xerox is faster and easier to say than "photocopy" or "photocopier," so it gets used interchangeable with each.

"Mc Donald's" is the posessive form of a common name - and copyrighted. A man named McDonald who owned a restaurant named... McDonald's... was sued for copyright infringement for calling his restaurant McDonald's.

You'll have to look further afield for something that sounds crazy, even now.