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From the category archives:
Copyright applications are often relatively simple documents and carry a government processing fee of only $35 (for electronic submission). Attorney’s fees can dwarf the cost of the application itself, tempting many artists and small businesses on a budget to go it alone.
However, laypeople often put incorrect information in their copyright application, potentially delaying the processing [...]
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Although copyright applications are relatively inexpensive- $35 if filing online- it can be expensive and time consuming to register a large number of works. A series of photographs, paintings or sculptures, or web posts would be cumbersome to register one by one. If a whole series could be registered together, the savings in government fees [...]
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Entrepreneurs rightly value good ideas for business names, brand names, logos, slogans and, in creative industries, titles. A creative business name or striking logo can do wonders for establishing your brand and building customer loyalty. A clever article or movie title can be a great help in marketing your work for distribution. I frequently get [...]
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Oxford University Press was kind enough to send me a copy of An Associate’s Guide to the Practice of Copyright Law, by Meaghan Hemmings Kent and Joshua J. Kaufman. Upon receiving the book, I looked at the table of contents and flipped through it and it appeared to be quite a handy general reference guide [...]
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In a recent blog post, Seth Godin seems to question whether trademarks, copyrights, and patents have value. He begins with the question “If we’re in the idea business, how to protect those ideas?” and ends with “Don’t.” Instead, he recommends, “spread them. Build a reputation as someone who creates great ideas.” Along the way, he [...]
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Technically, Copyrights Themselves Are Free
Copyrights protect your creative works, such as books and other texts, recorded music, pictures and photographs, and movies and other audiovisual recordings. The owner of the copyright to a creative work has the right to prevent others from making or distributing copies of the work without permission.
Copyrights now arise automatically when [...]
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This book by William Patry is the latest offering in the recent spate of anti-copyright books aimed at the general public. I agree with the author’s overall conclusion that copyrights have been strengthened excessively, to the point that they achieve the opposite of the intended result- less creative works rather than more. However, I did [...]
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If you own the copyright for a creative work, you have the right to stop anyone else from copying or distributing that work or using that work to create new derivative works. Anyone who does any of those things without your permission is infringing on your copyrights. If you have registered your copyright, you can [...]
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Brett Trout has a great summary of Fair Use law as it pertains particularly to small business owners. If you are using part of a work that may be protected under copyright (to someone other than yourself) for any purpose, you owe it to yourself to consider whether your use may constitute copyright infringement. If [...]
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I have discussed before the importance of registering your copyrights, which gives you the ability to enforce your copyrights. Once you submit your application for registration, you will wait for some time before hearing back from the Copyright Office regarding your application.
What Communication You Will Receive From the Copyright Office
You will not receive an acknowledgment [...]
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