Understanding Copyright - The 3 Must Know Tips By Justine Shoolman

The more I speak with people, the more I realize copyright is a topic that is still commonly misunderstood.

This article is intended to clarify some of the major questions about copyright so people can feel comfortable promoting their work to outside parties.

Tip 1: What is Copyright?

It only seems logical to begin this article by describing what copyright really is. In essence, copyright protects original works from being used without permission from the author or owner of the work. The reason for the protection is to encourage creators to continue with their artistic innovations, which positively impacts the economy.

Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to the author or owner of the work for a specific period of time. The rights granted by copyright include:
* producing or reproducing the work or any substantial part thereof
* permitting the reproduction of the work or any substantial part thereof
* performing the work or any substantial part thereof
* publishing the work or any substantial part thereof
* translating the work into other languages, or creating an adaption, such as a novel into a screenplay

The significance of these rights is that the owner of the copyright can control who uses their work. As a result, the creative integrity of the work can be maintained as the owner has control over its use.

Tip 2: How do I Attain Copyright Protection?

The beauty about copyright is that it is automatic the moment you put your original work into a fixed (tangible) form. When we refer to a tangible form it means the work has to be on something physical. In other words, if you simply recite your poem to someone, you do not own the copyright. However, if you write the poem on a napkin, or record yourself reciting the poem, you will own the copyright, and the rights that go along with it.

Although copyright is automatic the moment you put your work in a fixed form, it could still be very difficult to prove you are the original creator of the work. As such, it can be a good idea to create legal proof of your ownership through a copyright registry. Many countries run their own registries. There are also registries through various artistic guilds, or even online registries.

Tip 3: What Works are Protected by Copyright?

Different countries may classify their works slightly differently. As a general guide, copyright extends to original creative works. Below are some examples and the classifications of works that can be protected by copyright:

o Literary Works (lyrics, novels, computer software source code, plays, etc.)
o Artistic Works/Visual Works (architectural work, sculptures, drawings, paintings, maps, photographs, etc.)
o Musical Works (musical composition with or without words)
o Dramatic Works (films, videos, choreography)
o Sound Recordings (recordings of music, dramas, lectures, etc. It does not include soundtracks to audio visual works).
o Serials & Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, bulletins, newsletters, journals, periodicals, etc.)

Now that you know what is protected by copyright, let's take a quick look at what is not protected by copyright.

Copyright protects the expression of a work. The idea of the work itself cannot be protected under copyright law. In other words, one thousand people can write about the concept of copyright, and each of them would hold the copyright to their specific expression about the topic. In addition to ideas, other works not protected by copyright include: concepts, names, titles, slogans, factual information, themes, catch-phrases, methods, governmental documents, etc.

Disclaimer
The above information is meant as a general guide to further your copyright knowledge and does not constitute legal advice. For questions about your specific work, you should consult a copyright lawyer in your country.

Justine Shoolman is a Founder of Copyright Creators (CC), a service inspired by the shortfalls of poor man's copyright. CC protects copyright for life with no membership fees. Visit CC today to receive 4 free registrations.

Intellectual Property – Services offered in UK and connected matters

By: morganwalker

Copyright related advice provided is spread across various industry sectors such as media, technology and entertainment. This includes advice on registered as well as unregistered copy rights. Services offered include:

1. Registration of copyrights,
2. Advice on copyright licensing,
3. Copyright enforcement including Copyright dispute resolution (includes mediation arbitration and /or Court based litigation),
4. Drafting enforceable copyright protection and assignment clauses in different agreements including employment agreements, shareholders agreements etc,
5. Any related advice with regard to ownership, transfer or assignment of copyrights including but not limited to mergers, acquisitions, asset sales, slump sales, other arrangements and transactions including drafting relevant clauses in transaction documents and conducting negotiations on behalf of the client,
6. Advice on related concepts like moral rights.

B. Trademarks

Lawyers advise on different businesses with regard to protection, transfer, enforcement of its goodwill in the trade name and trademark/s(registered as well as unregistered). Lawyers typically provide the following services:

1. Trademark registration including filing applications, lodging oppositions and cancellations, renewals etc,
2. Trademark licensing and assignment advice,
3. Advice on trademark related clauses in different agreements including commercial franchising agreements, employment agreements etc,
4. Any related advice with regard to ownership ,transfer or assignment of trademarks during mergers, acquisitions, asset sales, slump sales, other arrangements and transactions including drafting relevant clauses in transaction documents and negotiating on behalf of the client,
5. Advice on trademark infringement,
6. Assistance in trademark protection and enforcement in related dispute resolution. (mediation, conciliation, arbitration and litigation),
7. Trademark search, due diligence and research,
8. Advice on matters related to unregistered trademarks including passing off actions and,
9. Related advice on trademarks including trade names, domain names and service marks.

C. Patents

Lawyers and other professionals advise on non contentious as well as contentious patent and patent related matters. Services typically offered and provided include:

1. Patent searches for non-contentious, state of art, patentability, novelty, invalidity, opposition, infringement, freedom to operate, right to use, domination, patent watch, technology updates,
2. Patent registration including connected searches, application, filing opposition etc. across (national, community and international)jurisdictions,
3. Patent drawings,
4. Commercialisation of patents including providing licensing and assignment related advice,
5. Advice on patent infringement,
6. Assistance in patent litigation and patent rights enforcement,
7. Patent protection related advice,
8. Any related advice with regard to ownership ,transfer or assignment of patents during mergers, acquisitions, asset sales, slump sales,other arrangements and transactions including drafting relevant clauses in transaction documents and negotiating on behalf of the client,
9. Advice on patent related clauses in different agreements including commercial franchising agreements, employment agreements etc and

10.  Advice on related concepts such as trade secrets and confidential information as alternative modes of protection of intellectual property.

D. Designs

Advice provided typically includes

1. Filing design applications,
2. Prosecuting design applications,
3. All aspects to design registrations,
4. Conducting design searches,
5. Renewal of design rights,
6. Advice on design infringement and assistance in enforcement of design rights,
7. Advice on design protection in different kinds of agreements including employment contracts,
8. Commercialisation of designs including assignment and licensing and
9. Any related advice with regard to ownership, transfer or assignment of patents during mergers, acquisitions, asset sales, slump sales, other arrangements and transactions including drafting relevant clauses in transaction documents and negotiating on behalf of the client.

E. Trade Secrets and Confidential information

Both non contentious as well as contentious advice with regard to trade secrets and confidential information are provided by lawyers who are skilled at these matters.

F. Other intellectual property matters

Professionals also provide advice on any other kind of intellectual property and connected matters, including trade names, service marks, domain names and moral rights.

About the Author

As soon as you contact Intellectual property law firm we start work on your claim or non contentious work as the case may be. On providing us the relevant details, we will appoint a case worker who will advise you on the future course of action. He or she will manage your matter, which includes coordinating with you and if need be engaging a solicitor etc from start to finish.

(ArticlesBase SC #1706447)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - Intellectual Property – Services offered in UK and connected matters

Copyright Procedures; Quick and Easy By Lyle Cochran

The digital age of cyber publishing and intellectual property, raises many questions about copyrighting. If you have never published anything in your life, you still hold copyrights. If you do publish your work, how do you know your copyrights are in place? Copyrighting is not complicated or difficult, there is a quick and easy way to copyright any creative you produce.

Copyright law in the United States is extremely generous toward the creators and owners of new works. Legal copyright protection is in effect immediately and automatically upon the creation of any “original work of authorship" that is "fixed in any tangible medium of expression."

In other words, a copyright notice is not necessary for your work to comply with U.S. Copyright law. For example, when authors, webmasters, amateur writers or anyone else submits a creative of any kind for publishing, that creative is automatically copyrighted. No copyright notice is necessary to be legally binding.

The laws are so generous in fact that the notes or scribbles you mindlessly make while speaking on the phone are considered copyrighted material, even if you wad it up and toss it in the trash at the end of the call. This does not mean that copyrighting should be taken lightly. There are significant legal advantages to using a copyright notice.

Copyrights can also be given away in part or in whole and must be agreed to in writing. The details of this are way beyond the scope of this writing. All authors and publishers have taken part in copyright agreements knowingly or unknowingly.

Quick and Easy Copyrighting:
The conventional copyright notice consists of 3 elements. The the word "copyright" or the copyright symbol, the year, and the name of the copyright owner. 

Copyright © 2006 [Your Name or Company]

To comply with current copyright law and to copyright any computer generated creative materials follow this formula. First, add the copyright notice as described above to the end of the document. When you have finished editing, save your document as a file.

Finally, print the complete document with the title or file name and the current date. Set these to be printed in your printer settings or use the header and footer options of your text editor. Optionally you can simply type the title and date along with your copyright statement manually.

For example:

Copyright © 2006 Lyle Cochran

Copyright Procedures, Quick and Easy, July, 19, 2006

The printed hard copy becomes your Master Document. This document should be protected at all cost as it is proof that you are the author of the created material.

Other medium:
If your creative is on some fixed and tangible medium other than computer, your hand written signature and date is usually enough copyright protection until you can apply for copyright.

Summary:
I know that the procedure outlined here sounds too easy, but it is the procedure recommended by the US Copyright Office. This short procedure is valid and will stand on it's own in litigation. Remember that the original date is key and a hard copy adds considerable weight to ownership.
If you wish to make your copyright bullet proof, you can begin copyright procedures online at the United States Copyright Office. ( http://www.copyright.gov/ )
Quotes Resource: http://www.copyright.gov/

Lyle Cochran is a PC Technician and owner of Cheap Computer Solutions - Guides, Tutorials and Articles all written in easy to understand language. Learn how to make your old PC run the newest software and games or make Windows behave the way you want. http://bytepowered.org Authors, Submit your Computer, Internet and Communications Articles for viral marketing and get them translated in to 8 different languages. http://bytepowered.org/articles Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lyle_Cochran