Being that I am one of the few real geniuses in the business

I will share with you my bit o' knowledge in these arena. RawAlex is correct. Matt is wrong.
Copyrights are inherent in any work. If at any time you can show that someone has copied your work, they can and should be sued. As mentioned previously, copyrights typically expire after a set period of years after death. This varies.
Trademarks are different. If you use someone's trademark and they don't contest it AFTER learning of it's use, then the thief is not liable for damages. I know of no set time period because the court has to decide if the trademark holder would have known previously of the infringement and whether they had chosen not to pursue the defendant/cocksucker.
Examples of uncontested, yet horribly infringed, trademarks are xerox and kleenex. A lot of people, even corporations refer to making copies as xeroxing. A lot of people say "get me a kleenex" when they want a tissue, no matter what brand it is. Both Xerox and Kleenex have allowed this to happen because it's damned good branding and advertising. Most trademark infringements hurt business though, rather than helping it.
Trust me, if you started referring to every tough link list owner/reviewer as a 'DangerDave', he'd hunt you down.
