The US Copyright Law grants rights to individuals for the works they create. The US Copyright Act of 1790 has changed over the years. The current basis of US copyright law is based on the Copyright Act of 1976. US copyright law is relatively automatic. Once someone has an idea and produces it in tangible form, the creator is the copyright holder and has the authority to enforce his exclusivity to it. In other words, the person is the owner of the creation. It is not necessary that a person register their work. However, it is recommended and it can serve as evidence if someone ever violates a copyright. It is interesting to note that when an employer hires an employee to produce a work that the copyright is given to the employer.
May
13
Comments (0)
May
2
Many people are surprised to learn there is no international copyright law. Yes, that is right. There is not an international copyright law that will protect your work on the other side of the world. However, it is important to note that most countries do offer some form of protection known as “foreign” works.
May
2
A copyright infringement lawsuit can occur for any number of reasons: someone using a song in a podcast or radio program, a writer “borrowing” information from another work, copying video or mp3 off the Internet without permission (or sometimes, even to another CD or DVD). Copyright infringement lawsuits are not generally brought to the average person, unless they’re downloading a LOT of music or movies, but usually for large operations: software pirates reselling goods on eBay or to some other unsuspecting victim, someone “sampling” a song to make another, or maybe a person reselling mp3s online.
Apr
23
In the United States there are millions of people every year who create original music, research, or write books and other forms of creative expression. These are covered by the term intellectual property and are given protection under copyright laws. If you are a publisher, writer, or editor it is crucial that you are knowledgeable about copyright issues more than ever. With the Internet there has been an enormous increase in counterfeiting and pirating of books, music, and other intellectual property. A report last year from the World Customs Organization indicated over a half a billion dollars in counterfeit and pirated products were put in the marketplace globally in 2005.
Apr
11
Beware of these myths about copyrighted materials:
If it doesn’t have a copyright notice, it’s not copyrighted.
That use to be correct. However, almost everything created privately and originally after April 1, 1989 is copyrighted and protected whether it has a notice or not.
If I don’t charge for it, it’s not a violation.
Wrong again. It is a violation if you copy and give copyrighted works away. There are serious penalties and damages awarded if you hurt the commercial value of the property when giving it away.
Apr
9
You’ve just gotten married, and are traveling the world with your new spouse on your honeymoon. A good friend who filmed the wedding and reception has just finished putting together the footage. He has posted it on YouTube so you both can relive your wedding day on your honeymoon.
The video is wonderful. It illuminates several moments you’d missed in the excitement of the day. Your friend has even included your song, Endless Love, as the background music for the video.
