Helpful Copyright Information For U.S. Artists
If you are an artist or writer who has come up with an original work that you feel deserves a broader target audience - whether it's a painting, song, photograph, screenplay, or a short story - you are probably aware that you might have to publish your work in some manner in order to make money. But is that sufficient to safeguard your creation from plagiarism? Copyright lawyers will tell you that yes, the moment you create your work, you have the rights to it in the eyes of the law. But these lawyers will also tell you that to give yourself the best, most bulletproof protection, you'll need to get your work legally copyrighted.
Copyright means just what it sounds like: it's the right to copy. What this means for artists is that everything you create- be it a poem, drawing, photo, or really virtually any piece of art - is yours; you the copyright holder, or the person or persons you give permission to, are the only people who can legally copy the work in any form and thus make money from it.
As previously mentioned, copyright is granted to you upon creation of a work, but there are many excellent reasons, other than just making it public record, that you might want to make it official and seek the assistance of a copyright attorney. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to sue an individual for infringement, for instance, you will be much better served by possessing an official record of registration. Some other reasons include having the ability to sell the copyright to another party, or if you have produced something that has real potential monetary value.
The Internet has, of course, made copyrights more important than ever, because it is now so easy for people to copy images, songs, photographs, etc. and distribute them on the Web without the author or creator's permission.
Registering copyrights is not terribly expensive and it can be done relatively easily on your own. An intellectual property lawyer can help you with the process for a small fee. He or she can be extremely helpful if you ever need to protect the copyright from infringement as well.
You are allowed to simply put a copyright symbol with your name and date of creation on your own work, but it is a much safer bet to go through the official channels. This reinforces that you own the copyright, and thus all reproduction rights, and makes it easier to sue anyone who uses your art without permission.
Reproduction permitted only if all active links are maintained and byline is preserved, and/or your byline is omitted. 2012 All Rights Reserved.
About the Author
Author Stephen Daniels highly recommends Baker & Rannells at http://www.tmlawworldwide.com for those seeking copyright attorneys. Their legal team, based in New York, has more than 63 years experience in both the U.S. and around the world. Their specialty is helping businesses with trademarks, domain names, and copyright law, including research, registration and litigation when appropriate.
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