Anyone want to set forth a little tutorial on available forms of IP
protection for formats? --- meaning IP protection against the use of a
format itself (like PDF, JPEG, Word.doc, TeX syntax), as contrasted to
IP protections for software that may create or read the formats.
Can a format itself be directly protected -- can the owner or developer
of a format forbid anyone else to use that format, even if this user
takes an openly available specification of the format, or reverse
engineers it, and writes completely new software to generate or read
files written in that format?
Or can the original owner or developer only protect the _name_ of the
format? -- meaning that others can't put out slightly modified versions
of the format, and call them by the same name?
Or . . . ???
[This query arises only from general curiosity and intellectual interest
-- no specific case or situation in mind.]
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