Business Law 101 / Copyrights

 

By Albert L. Kelley

 

What is a copyright?  A copyright is a series of protection given to authors, composers, architects, artists, and any other person who creates something of artistic value.  A number of items may receive copyright protection.These include books and stories, music, dramatic works, choreography, pictures, paintings and sculptures, motion pictures and other audiovisual works, sound recordings, and compilations.  Some things cannot be copyrighted.  These include titles, names and slogans, ideas, methods and procedures, common information, list of ingredients, blank forms, and government publications.

A copyright can be claimed only by people who have a right in the created work.  Normally this would be the author, however, if the author is an employee hired to create the work, it is the employer who owns the copyright. This is what is known as a “work made for hire.” (A “work made for hire” generally does not apply to independent contractors, so if you hire a graphic artist to create a T-shirt design, or if you hire a photographer to take a picture for you, you will not own the copyright-the graphic artist or photographer will). A copyright holder may also assign his copyright to a third party, and that person may then claim the copyright on the work.

Copyright gives certain protections and rights to the author.  The protections include the exclusive rights to reproduce the work; to prepare derivative works, such as translations, abridged versions, etc.; to distribute copies to the public for sale or rental; to perform the work publicly; and to display the work publicly.  If you purchase a DVD of a movie, you are not allowed to sell copies of it.  This would be a violation of the right to copy and distribute.  If the owner of a restaurant buys a CD, he cannot play it over the stereo at his restaurant.  This would be a violation of the right to perform the work publicly.  If you buy a painting, you cannot change it for display.  This would be a violation of the right to make adaptions.

A copyright does not need to be recorded or registered with the federal government in order to be in existence.  A copyright begins immediately upon the creation of the writing, artwork, etc.  However, it must be registered in order to file a lawsuit for infringement.  Copyright registration is handled electronically.  The application can be found online at the Copyright Office’s website.  Once completed you submit a digital copy of the work being filed. Generally, you must submit an entire copy of the work, however there are some exceptions.   The process takes roughly eight months.  The application fee is currently $30 per application.

The copyright notice does not need to be placed on any item created after March1, 1989, although, it is a good practice to use the notice to inform others of the ownership rights. The proper form for the copyright notice is either the word “copyright,” the abbreviation “co” or the symbol of a “©” along with the year of creation and the owner’s name.

Copyrights can be licensed, sold, transferred, or assigned.  This may be done in whole or in part.  In other words, an author can sell the copyright to distribute a work but not sell the right to adapt the work.  A composer can license the rights to perform a work, but not to reproduce it.  The term of a copyrightis the life of the author plus seventy years.  For corporate owned works or pseudonymous work, the term is 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation, whichever was shorter.

Al Kelley is a Florida business law attorney located in Key West and previously taught business law, personnel law and labor law at St. Leo University.  He is also the author of “Basics of Business Law” and “Basics of Florida’s Small Claims Court” (Absolutely Amazing e-Books). This article is being offered as a public service and is not intended to provide specific legal advice.  If you have any questions about legal issues, you should confer with a licensed Florida attorney.

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