Originality in Law
In law, originality has become an important legal concept with respect to intellectual property, where creativity and invention have manifest as copyrightable works. In the patent law of the United States and most other countries, only original inventions are subject to protection. In addition to being original, inventions submitted for a patent must also be useful and nonobvious.
In United States copyright law and the law of many other states, copyrights protect only original works of authorship, a property which has been historically and legally linked to a concept of "creativity". A work must pass a threshold of originality in order to be copyrightable.
In United Kingdom intellectual property law, a derived work can demonstrate originality, and must do so if it is to respect copyright.
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Famous quotes containing the words originality and/or law:
“The more intelligent one is, the more men of originality one finds. Ordinary people find no difference between men.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
“With proper attribution, to quote another’s thoughts and words is appropriate; plagiarism, however, is cheating, and it may break copyright law as well.”
—Kenneth G. Wilson (1923)