Category: Copyright

Protecting your book under copyright law can be very simple and swift. Additionally, with so many online copyright registries, it’s has also become much more affordable than in the past. Tip 1: Make Certain Your Book is the Subject of Copyright Before protecting your book under copyright law, you must first determine whether your work falls under a category that copyright protects. In the case of a book it would fall under “Literary Works” because it is a nondramatic textual work expressed with words, numbers, or symbols and may or…

As a founder, you need to understand work-for-hire. Why? Because it determines who owns key IP in your startup. Copyright laws protect creative works, including IP that you develop. When you develop IP for others, the work-for-hire idea affects who owns it. How does it work? Here are some guidelines: 1. You develop IP for your startup as its employee — the IP belongs to your employer. Pretty basic. This is a classic work for hire. There are gray areas but, if you create IP while doing employment duties for…

Before we discuss copyright licensing, let’s just refresh ourselves as to the meaning of the word copyright. Copyright protection is given to the owner of original works they have written, drawn or composed regardless of whether it is published or unpublished. So when you think of copyrighting, you should be thinking of art, music, drama or literary works. Some other intellectual property items will fall under copyrighting protection as well but these are the main types. Unless the owner of a copyright gives you permission you are prohibited by law…

According to the Copyright Act of 1976, copyright is created when a composition is “fixed in any tangible medium of expression.” In other words, as soon as you write down lyrics or record a riff on a CD or download it onto your computer, copyright is established. As a matter of course, you should always include of notification of copyright on your work. The proper form is the word “copyright” or the symbol (c), the year composed and your name. You should also register your work with the United States…

Advances in technology have made it very easy for all us to share, copy or change information. However, people who are blogging or into online publishing should be very careful about copyright infringement. A small mistake can be an expensive one and could lead to legal complications. Here are dos and don’ts for an online publisher that can help you figure out what you can do and what you cannot while publishing content or images on a website or blog. Dos: o You should ensure that you use just material…

It is absolutely essential that all screenwriters looking to profit from their work have an understanding of copyright law. If the legal procedures necessary to protect your work are not undertaken, it will be impossible to prove that your work is your own. Luckily, the proper procedures are easy to understand and execute. The first fact about copyrighting that any screenwriter should be aware of is a piece of good news – the government is on your side. Under United Kingdom law, any original work is automatically placed under copyright…

How do I get my book copyrighted is one of the most common questions new writers ask. It’s also a very important question. While most writers do not have their work stolen or copied by someone else, it does happen, and preparation is the best defense. What is Copyright? Many don’t know that your work is “copyrighted” the minute you produce it; it belongs to you exclusively. Once your work is in a concrete form (written down, in the case of literary work), it is yours and you have the…