Yes but art and music is exempt from this rule, you cant copyright an Idea for a painting! Neither can you copyright a melody. Only lyrics, photograph, physical recording etc
you're confusing trademark, patents and copyright
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im not following you. who exactly is the winner and who is the loser??
the winners as always the lawyers who charge outrageous fees.
the loser are all of the other people/companies/etc with designs, IP, etc that apple has ripped off, plagiarized, copied and those people are too small to stand up to apple.
apple's montra seems to be, if you can get away with it, do it. don't worry about searching databases.
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from USPTO
What is a trademark or service mark?
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.
A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. Throughout this booklet, the terms "trademark" and "mark" refer to both trademarks and service marks.
A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work;
a patent protects an invention, design and/or utility