Questions on copyright, trademarks, & how they apply to creatives on Steemit

As a primer to this article, I'd like to clarify that I am not looking for up-votes here, but rather a conversation and feedback from those with experience dealing with copyright laws or trademarks. If we get quality advice or thoughts in the comments, please up-vote those giving solid and thoughtful responses! Thanks! 

Introduction

This is officially my second day as an author on Steemit and I have been putting a lot of thought into what kind of content I would like to contribute to the platform. There are a couple areas of creative writing that I have always considered taking a stab at, but have never had the gumption to take on. After looking into some of the categories and the wide range of content currently being published, i'm starting to think that some of these areas might be worth devoting some time and energy to. 

My belief is that Steemit offers a unique system for new or prospective authors to test out some of their material  and get honest feedback from casual readers, Internet trolls, and other authors alike. It also seems like the perfect platform to gain a small following or support for a new creative project, by garnering up-votes that correlate to small payments to help you get through the creative cycle, and possibly even pay for initial cover art, distribution methods, or other necessary components of the development process. 

Some of the things I was thinking would be worth posting in this vein would be short stories or even full fledged novels by releasing one to three chapters at a time, or even game design or product ideas (some of which I have written up and would love feedback or support on). 

Questions

The main question I have for the Steemit community, and the one I have been wrestling with, is how copyright, trademark, and protective laws would apply to creatives on Steemit. Below are some specific questions I was hoping to get feedback on. 

1. If you were to write and release chapters of a novel, would you maintain the rights from a legal perspective?

2. If you were to post game design ideas, detailed network mechanics, or a whitepaper and someone else developed it into a product and sold it, would you have grounds to take legal action? 

3. Would having publicly available materials on a platform like Steemit relating to a product or service impact your ability to file a trademark? 

4. Would there be any other legal areas that would need to be considered, or areas where posting content directly to Steemit might limit your options down the road as far as control of your intellectual properties or creations would be concerned? 

If any of these questions have been asked previously or clarified elsewhere, please feel free to post links in the comments below! 

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. It really has been amazing seeing the positive and supportive nature of the Steem community and I think it is a great strength of the platform. I look forward to reading your thoughts!