Below is a brief breakdown of copyright law for writers and other artists to reference.
What Copyright Protects
Copyright law gives creators or owners of creative works the legal right to control how the works are used. This article gives an overview of copyright law and introduces some important concepts that will appear again and again when producing content.
Copyright protects works of authorship.A work of authorship is any creative work made by a human being that can be communicated to other humans, either directly or with the aid of a device such as a film projector. Works of authorship include, but are not limited to:
• writings of all types
• musical works, including song lyrics
• plays
• photographs
• databases
• maps
• artworks, sculpture, and graphics
• movies and videos
• computer software
• sound recordings
• pantomimes and choreographic works, and
• architectural drawings and blueprints and the design of buildings
Copyright is the most significant law that protects works of authorship. However, in some situations other laws also give power to creators or owners of works of authorship to control how their works are used. These laws may prevent you from using some materials that are not protected by copyright. They are:
• The right of publicity: A patchwork of state laws protects against the unauthorized use of a person’s name or image for advertising or other commercial purposes.
• Trademark laws: Brand names such as Nike and McDonald’s, as well as logos, slogans, and other devices that identify and distinguish products and services are protected under federal and state trademark laws.
• Patent laws: Federal laws that protect inventions from new types of beartraps to smartphones.
Requirement 1—Fixation
The basic requirement that a work of authorship must meet to qualify for copyright protection is that it must be fixed in a “tangible medium of expression.”
Copyright law is not particular about how a work is fixed; any medium from which it can be read back or heard, either directly or with the aid of a machine, will suffice. In other words, a work will be protected if it is written on a piece of paper, painted on canvas, saved on a computer disk or in the cloud, filmed or recorded with an iPhone or camera, or saved by any other means.
The federal copyright law does not protect works that have not been fixed in some way. For example, it doesn’t protect something someone says but never writes down or otherwise preserves.
Requirement 2—Originality
A work fixed in a tangible form is protected by copyright only if it is original. If only part of a work is original, only that part will be protected. But a work need not be novel—that is, new to the world—to be protected. For copyright purposes, a work is original if it—or at least a part of it—owes its origin to the author. A work’s quality, ingenuity, aesthetic merit, or uniqueness is not considered. The originality requirement has extremely important ramifications for the public domain. Because of this requirement, someone who merely makes an exact copy of a public domain work is not entitled to receive a copyright on the reproduction.
Requirement 3—Minimal Creativity
Finally, a minimal amount of creativity over and above the independent creation requirement (Requirement 2, above) is necessary for copyright protection. Works completely lacking in creativity are denied copyright protection even if they have been independently created. However, the amount of creativity required is very slight. A work need not be novel, unique, ingenious, or even any good to be sufficiently creative. All that’s required is that the work be the product of a very minimal creative spark.
Conclusion
Copyright protection for all works created after 1978 begins the instant a work meets the three requirements set forth in the previous section—that is, the moment an original and minimally creative work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. There is no waiting period, and it is not necessary to register with the Copyright Office. Copyright protects both drafts and completed works, and both published and unpublished works.
For More Information
U.S. Copyright Office
Fees | U.S. Copyright Office
Contact Cases of Note info@casesofnote.org
Comments
Post a Comment