sorry this is really open-ended but a subject i think alot of people would learn from...

i'm curious about patents and also trademark/copyrights/etc.. especially in the investment sphere.

specifically regarding the VIX....... would someone run into alot of trouble with the CBOE trying to patent/trademark a volailtity measure that's different than theirs but still based on implied volatility.

that's not my idea/interest by the way but it is highly relatable to my interests.

i know patents are highly specific so in theory you should be able to do a volatility measure that is based on implied volatility but perhaps different weighting algorithm.

as per trademark/copyright/idea, would you run into trouble doing a musical based on heavy metal/hair bands on the sunset strip circa 1988? i.e. "rock of ages" already exists.......... to me these are generic ideas, like combining the punk rock scene of 1970s london and making a musical about it.

i know art buchwald made alot of money suing paramount about submitting a script to paramount about an african prince coming incognito to USA and falling in love... to me that's again just a generic idea. not sure what buchwald's relationship was to paramount.

it seems to me that things like volatility and relative strength/momentum are just generic ideas. yes, your calculation could have intellectual value but so many other similar calcs out there.

out of interest, gary gastineau works for a big fund group now and has patented (in process?) some algorithms/structures for active ETF's. active ETF problem is that investors need to know what's in the ETF but active manager doesn't want to give info as he'll be front-run. so i think gary came up with idea that every hour the active etf would release its active factors i.e. sector weights, maybe subsector weights and size profile. i.e. you'd know that active etf has been buying big oil but you don't know if it's exxon, chevron, schlumberger etc..

thx in advance, i know it's vague. but that's been my experience (i.e. vague) reading about patents.

ok, the first thing that came up on google for "VIX patent" was its patent so maybe i'll just read that.

Nowadays it's generally very difficult to get patents on financial algorithms as they tend to be considered as abstract ideas. You would have to solve some technical problem (e.g., your algorithm is faster or more accurate when speed/accuracy is of the essence, etc.), but just a measure by itself would not be so simple to patent.

As per your trademark/copyright idea, depending on how you did it, you could make a fair use defense but that would not prevent people from suing you and you would have to court to prove it anyway. Which is why many people pay some small royalties to do music samples to avoid such problems.