mrluke wrote:Shakeman wrote:SilverArrow10 wrote:Hammer time should now be his catchphrase now too, that's got to be a marketing opportunity, that's the thing about Hamilton is that he is very marketable, heck I am getting his championship snap back if and when it comes out. 44 should become his signature I think
I think MC Hammer might have a thing or two to say about his catchphrase being purloined for marketing reasons.
Good job nobody ever copyrighted the wheel.
Just for reference (given that this is a technical forum).
Copyrights are given on works (not ideas, like the wheel), they are given to you when you create the work, whether you like it or not. You don't "copyright" something - you just have the copyright by dint of having made the work.
Patents are given on ideas. You do need to apply for the patent. A patent is an exchange - you get a monopoly on the idea for a set period of time. Everyone else gets to know what it is you did. That's the exchange, it's a method of encouraging you to not keep secrets, by rewarding you for telling you how your invention works.
The wheel would have been patentable (up until everyone else saw how it worked anyway, and for a limited period). The line "STOP, Hammer Time" (glad Hamilton doesn't use the STOP part), is copyrighted.