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Copyright Basics

Written by: David M. Adler

Article Overview: What is Copyright and what does it protect?

Copyright Basics

(C) 2007 Adler LAw Group
Safeguarding Ideas, Relationships and Talent (R)

Copyright Basics

What is Copyright?

Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution grants Congress the power ... “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” The Copyright Act of 1976 (the “Act”) provides specific rights and remedies to authors of original creative works fixed in any tangible medium of expression, whether published or not.

What does copyright protect?

The Copyright Act of 1976 protects creative expression: literary, dramatic, and musical works; pantomimes and dance; pictorial, graphic and sculptural works; audio-visual works; sound recordings; and architectural works. Essentially, any original “expression” is eligible for copyright protection as soon as it is fixed in a tangible form.

Almost any original expression that is fixed in a tangible form is protected as soon as it is expressed. A tangible form includes the electronic medium: a graphic file created in any graphics editing software program is protected as soon as the file is saved to disk. A web page is protected as soon as you stop typing and save it as a .html file. As you can see, most of the items that you are likely to encounter on the Internet are eligible for copyright protection, including the text of web pages, contents of email and Usenet messages, sound files, graphics files and so on.

Although no longer necessary, notice on copyrighted material avoids any uncertainty that it is copyrighted. The four elements of Notice are the copyright symbol, the term “Copyright,” the year of copyright, the name of the copyright holder, and the phrase “All Rights Reserved.”

For example:

Copyright © 2000 David M. Adler, Esq.
All Rights Reserved

However, items like Ideas, Facts, Titles, Names, Short phrases, and Blank forms are not eligible for copyright protection. Also duration of the protection afforded by copyright Duration of protection lasts depends in large part on when the work in question was created. Whether the work was created before or after January 1, 1978 could have substantial affect on the life-span of the copyright.

If published before 1978, the copyright expires 75 years from the date of publication (if the copyright was renewed). If published after 1978, the copyright will expire on December 31, 2002. If published between 1978 and the present and the copyright is owned by an individual the copyright will last for the life of the author, plus an additional 50 years. If published between 1978 and the present and the copyright owned by employer of author, the copyright will last 75 years from the date of publication, or 100 years from the date of creation, whichever occurs first.

What Material Can One Use?

Obviously one may use any original material one creates: graphics, audio, text, or video. One may also license material to use on web pages or in catalogs. If an item like a picture was created by someone else and the copyright has not expired, then permission must be sought for the right to use that item from the copyright owner. Essentially, when one buys a clipart CD one is also buying a license. A license will spell out how the image may be used, how much it would cost to use the image, and any other conditions and restrictions.

One may also use works deemed in the “Public Domain.” The Public Domain contains all works that for whatever reason are not protected by copyright. As such, they are free for all to use without permission. Works in the Public Domain include characteristics such as: a lost copyright, an expired copyright, owned or authored by the federal government, specifically granted to public domain, or just non-copyrightable.

Why should I register my copyright?

As described earlier, a work is copyrighted as soon as it is created, but there are some advantages to registering your work with the Copyright Office. In order to sue for “statutory damages” from infringement of a work, a work must be registered with the Copyright Office. However, one may register after the infringement occurs.

To register a copyright, file the appropriate form with the U.S. Copyright Office, including the payment for registration costs. Check with the Copyright Office to get the current fees.

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Article Tags: architectural works, constitution grants congress, copyright act of 1976, copyright protection, copyright symbol, creative expression, creative works, electronic medium, four elements, graphics editing software, graphics files, law group, limited times, pantomimes, sculptural works, sound recordings, tangible medium, us constitution, useful arts, usenet messages



Related Forum Posts
You are too young - I don't really believe (I've been into web designing for 7 years now... I started in 2000) there is any web design laws. Besides the fact that you can't use copyrighted images on web design without permission from the original author. Also, any web designs you do you may want to have it copyrighted so other's can't steal your idea's or whatever... of course, you can offer a "Copyright Change" option for a bit more money that will allow you to be able to transfer the copyrights and give exclusive rights to the purchaser. All in all, don't worry about the laws... you should be fine, just remember that if your in the U.S. that if your making over $400 (or maybe its $600) in revenue, you'll have to pay taxes to the government... and please get a LLC, although its not a big thing with web designs, you could get into legal trouble somewhere in the business. Lastly, use contracts for when your selling or use agreements to clear the air so that you can have a safe business and you'll have some backing up if you ever are taken to court.
What SHOULD be in your footer? - [quote="Evan":28oh58ta]What's in your footer?[/quote:28oh58ta] Hi Evan, I always thought people simply used the legal "Copyright" jargon and some navigation links as their footers. But after reviewing the link you provided, I think you should try using your "footer" space to advertise other sections and features on your site. For example, you could create 3 to 4 large rectangle images that link to a) your "Famous Entrepreneur" profiles, b) SEO for Africa - showing photos from the actual seminar, c) and even the most popular forum posts via Google keyword search (e.g. "Slogans for 2008" or "The Celebrity Apprentice" to generate even higher rankings. Perhaps a better question a better question to ask would be "What [u:28oh58ta]should[/u:28oh58ta] be in your footer?"
Is this copyright infringement? - Hi TheAnonymousMan, From the resources you've provided, it looks like I'll just have to take my own set of pictures at live tennis events for my site. But The Canadian Intellectual Property Office's [i:1smac7qr]A Guide To Copyrights[/i:1smac7qr] states that "The Copyright Act provides that any 'fair dealing' with a work for purposes of private study or research, or for criticism, review or news reporting is not infringement. However, in the case of criticism, review, or news reporting, the user is required to give the source and the author's, performer's, sound recording maker's or broadcaster's name, if known" (6). So if I wanted to report news on Maria Sharapova or make a comment about her, would using an image from her official website be ok if I simply attached a link back to her site (i.e. I gave credit to wherever I got the image)?
Book: Secrets of Six Figure Women - Secrets of Six Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to up your earning and change your life Barbara Stanny, 2002 Jacket: Maybe you've noticed - a subtle trend is gathering steam. Quietly and steadily, the number of women making six figures or more is increasing, and it continues to rise at a rate faster than for men. From entrepreneurs to corporate executives, from white collar executives to free lancers and part timers, women are forging careers with considerable financial success. Through extensive research and hundreds of interviews, including dialogs with more than 150 high earners whose annual incomes range from $100,000 to 7 million, Stanny discovered that ...they all had certain traits in common: 1) a profit motive 2) Audacity 3) REslience 4) Encouragement 5) Self-awareness 6) Non-attachment 7) Financial knowhow She amplifies on these in the book itself. Table of Contents Intro: Welcome to the era of the six-figure woman 1. The Queen in the Countinghouse 2. The Lowdown on low earners 3. Raising the bar 4. Strategy 1: The Declaration of Intention 5. Strategy 2: Letting go of the ledge 6. Strategy 3: Get in the Game 7. Strategy 4: Speak Up 8. Strategy 5: The Stretch 9. Strategy 6: Seek Support 10. Strategy 7: Obey the rules of money 11. Claiming our power Appendces: Resources and websites Tips for getting out of dent Investing Basics: Wealthbuilding 101


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