Copyright Law
What you need to know about protecting your work. By Richard P. Patrick, Attorney.
With the Gig Harbor Film Festival coming up in mid-October, I got to thinking about Intellectual Property (IP) and how the lines these days are often blurred. Intellectual Property is a blanket terms that refers to product names and logos (Trade Names), inventions (Patents), and original works of authorship, like movies (Copyright).
Because this is an often misunderstood area of the law, I wanted to talk about the basics of protecting your work through Copyright registration and Agreement. Copyright gives a person the right to perform and display the work publicly, reproduce the work, distribute the work for sale, rent, or transfer its ownership, and generally control the work.
Did you know?
Software code, architectural works, musical compositions, and motion pictures are all types of work that can be protected under Copyright. But what comes as a surprise to many authors or originators of a work is that as soon as they complete a work, it has automatically obtained a copyright.
In other words, the poor man’s Copyright that is established by mailing the finished work to oneself, is no longer necessary.
Options for Protection
However, because today’s business world can be a bit complicated, an author or originator of a work would be best advised to register it. For example, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is a quick and easy way to document the date of authorship of your work.
This organization accepts registration of all kinds of written ideas intended for television and film, or short stories, novels, and music.
Still, another option is to apply for Copyright registration through the U.S. Copyright Office (CO)
electronically (eCO). Like the Writer’s Guild of America, authors and originators of work can upload it electronically. The benefits of this office include a low filing fee and a fast processing time.
The next best registration option is with “Fill-In” forms at the government sponsored copyright office. This office can process these forms much faster than paper forms completed manually. One completes the form online, prints, and then mails them to the office with the necessary funds. On the other hand, the slowest form of registration is through paper forms sent via the U.S. mail.
When There Are Multiple Authors
When two or more folks create a work, they are collaborating. In these cases, a written Collaboration Agreement lays out each person’s’ rights. The agreement should specify the
percentages of ownership as well as how the work will be used, what conditions it will be
distributed under, and how the proceeds of any transaction will be divided.
Copyright registration proves to a court that you own the work. It forces any person using your
work without your permission to prove that they had a legal right to use it. It can be the legal
basis to force them to stop using it without your permission and to pay you for it’s use. Therefore, if you are an originator of any type of media, it is usually a good idea to understand your rights and to take advantage of the protections offered under copyright law.
Disclaimer of Liability: This information is only provided to increase awareness of issues
surrounding intellectual property. While the information provided is about legal issues, it is not
legal advice or legal representation.
