Top Urban Legends About Intellectual Property

There is a lot of common knowledge about intellectual property, but it turns out most of it isn’t true. Which is not to say much of it doesn’t have at least a grain of truth. This post from Kathryn A. Gromlovits, partner at the Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick firm, sorts it out, as she identifies the top ten urban legends about IP and to what extent they have, or don’t have, a basis in fact. Myth number one concerns “the poor man’s copyright.” (Just mail yourself a copy of what you want protected and don’t open it.) Number eight is more complicated and addresses an important question for many in the business community: When does a company own the intellectual property created by its employees or contractors?