Having work stolen is a huge headache for creative people. If you're going to sell your work online you are open to someone digitally picking up copies of your work and using it for their own purposes. At some point, many artists consider suing in order to try and deter thieves. Not everyone understands exactly how the process works however. A good copyright infringement lawyer can help sort out your rights.
Copyrights are one of the few protections artists have against infringement yet many of them don't really understand when and how works are copyrighted, which works can be copyrighted and which can;t, and what rights they have when another infringes on those rights. Artists have the rights to their works for a certain length of time. The Founding Fathers deliberately put this into the Constitution. You have the right to formally register your work with the federal government copyright office.
There are advantages and drawbacks to doing this. The biggest benefit is the right to sue anyone who infringes on your work. A big drawback is the cost involved if you have multiple works you want to protect. Each individual work must be registered, and paid for, separately. This can get expensive for someone like a photographer who publishes a portfolio of work or markets works on the internet.
There are certain things that can't be copyrighted. One of these is called fixation. That means the work has to be in a tangible state. A musician's song written down or recorded is the property of that musician. The performance of the song live can't be copyrighted. Ideas can't be protected, but once the idea becomes concrete reality, it can.
There has to be an original concept involved with a work in order for the law to protect it. Many things, like days in the week and lists of people's names, are considered facts and can be used by anybody. If an artist creates an original calendar that contains days of the weeks however, the design can be protected.
Website addresses are not protected under copyright law. If you want to make sure your domain name is yours alone you have to apply to the patent office for a trademark. The duration of protection is a complicated subject, and you probably need to consult a professional for an analysis of your particular situation. Protection can last as long as the artist is alive. Sometimes copyrights stay in effect for a hundred twenty years from the creation of a work.
Fair use is an exception to copyrights that artists need to understand. Fair use allows others to take a portion of a copyrighted work for the purpose of reporting, educating, or commentary, among other things. The free use can't negatively affect the commercial value of the work.
Copyrights are in place to protect and encourage those in science and the arts. It gives them exclusive use for a period of time. The Founding Fathers believed it was so important they put it in the Constitution.
Copyrights are one of the few protections artists have against infringement yet many of them don't really understand when and how works are copyrighted, which works can be copyrighted and which can;t, and what rights they have when another infringes on those rights. Artists have the rights to their works for a certain length of time. The Founding Fathers deliberately put this into the Constitution. You have the right to formally register your work with the federal government copyright office.
There are advantages and drawbacks to doing this. The biggest benefit is the right to sue anyone who infringes on your work. A big drawback is the cost involved if you have multiple works you want to protect. Each individual work must be registered, and paid for, separately. This can get expensive for someone like a photographer who publishes a portfolio of work or markets works on the internet.
There are certain things that can't be copyrighted. One of these is called fixation. That means the work has to be in a tangible state. A musician's song written down or recorded is the property of that musician. The performance of the song live can't be copyrighted. Ideas can't be protected, but once the idea becomes concrete reality, it can.
There has to be an original concept involved with a work in order for the law to protect it. Many things, like days in the week and lists of people's names, are considered facts and can be used by anybody. If an artist creates an original calendar that contains days of the weeks however, the design can be protected.
Website addresses are not protected under copyright law. If you want to make sure your domain name is yours alone you have to apply to the patent office for a trademark. The duration of protection is a complicated subject, and you probably need to consult a professional for an analysis of your particular situation. Protection can last as long as the artist is alive. Sometimes copyrights stay in effect for a hundred twenty years from the creation of a work.
Fair use is an exception to copyrights that artists need to understand. Fair use allows others to take a portion of a copyrighted work for the purpose of reporting, educating, or commentary, among other things. The free use can't negatively affect the commercial value of the work.
Copyrights are in place to protect and encourage those in science and the arts. It gives them exclusive use for a period of time. The Founding Fathers believed it was so important they put it in the Constitution.
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