Learn about Copyrights

A copyright is definitely the safest way to protect your original works from illegal use. Often, copyright laws are misunderstood, which causes people to be unsure of how a copyright works, or how it could benefit them. To fully understand copyright law, you need to know what types of original work are copyrightable, who can essentially claim a copyright, how to register a specific copyright and how long copyrights last.

What Is Copyright Law?

Copyright laws in the U.S. are meant to safeguard intellectual property. This consists of musical, dramatic, artistic, literary, and other original works. A copyright can also protect works such as poetry, songs, novels, paintings, movies, and computer software. According to copyright laws, authors are guaranteed the exclusive rights to their work, and are the only one who can authorize the copy, distribution, display and performance of their original works for a specific period of time. Ideas and methods of operation cannot be copyrighted. However, concepts of them can be, but this shouldn't be mistaken for trademarks and patents.

Who Can Claim a Copyright?

The original author is the only individual that can claim a copyright. This can become confusing if multiple people are involved. For example, an employer can ask an employee to produce a commercial jingle for a business. This is typically known as a "made-for-hire work," and the employer would own the copyright. Additionally, copyrights can also be inherited and sold.

Registration Process

An original work is copyrighted after its completion. Currently, there isn't any legal requirement to register a copyright, but it is definitely required if you need to sue for copyright infringement in the future. A copyright can be registered voluntarily by contacting the U.S. Copyright Office along with paying a processing fee. Once the copyright is fully registered, you will receive a certification to proof the registration.

Copyright Time Frame

An original work that was created after January 1, 1978, is protected during the entire life of the author, plus 70 years. Anonymous work has a copyright period of 95 years from the date of creation. Chapter 3 of the Copyright Act details the regulations for works copyrighted before 1978. Once a copyright period has expired, the work then enters directly into public domain. In this case, the work could be used without payment or permission from the author.

Violations

Whether it's done unintentionally or purposely, copyright infringement is prohibited. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was designed in 2000 following the famous lawsuit against music-sharing website Napster. DMCA enforces traditional copyright law for original work on the Internet. If a particular website is found selling or sharing copyrighted works without the authorization of the author, the owner of the original work can send the website owner a DMCA notice, under copyright law, the website owner is required to immediately remove the copyrighted materials from the site.

A copyright is definitely the safest way to protect your original works. If you feel you're a victim of copyright infringement, you should consult with a copyright attorney to determine the steps of litigation to protect your copyright.