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Copyrights protect “original works of authorship fixed in a
tangible medium of expression” from unauthorized copying. In
laymen’s terms, copyrights protect:
- Computer
Hardware and Software Programming Code;
- Written works
such as books, manuscripts, poetry, sheet music, reports,
manuals, product schematics and plans, maps, etc.;
- Visual Works
such as photos, drawings, sculpture and paintings;
- Videos and
Movies;
- Sound
Recordings;
- Architectural
Plans;
- Possibly
aspects of ornamental products, such as jewelry, lamps, etc.;
and
- Mask Works
(computer chips).
Rights in a
copyright exist when the work is created. However, there are
certainly important benefits to be had from registering a
copyright. Registration is required to bring an action in
Federal Court. Registration also permits the copyright owner to
obtain statutory damages, rather than your actual damages, from
an infringer and at least raises the possibility of recovering
attorney fees from an infringer.
Copyright law
has evolved over the years, creating a myriad of different rules
that are applied to works depending upon the year the work was
created or first published. Additionally, with the evolution of
new technologies for creating new copyrightable works, for
protecting copyrightable works and for overcoming those
protections, the law in this area is quickly evolving.
Polster, Lieder
attorneys keep abreast of the continuing changes in copyright
law and the technology underlying those changes.
Polster, Lieder, Woodruff & Lucchesi’s
Copyright Practice
Polster,
Lieder’s copyright practice can be divided into three primary
areas:
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Registering Copyright Protection
All
Polster, Lieder attorneys can assist their clients in the
registration of their copyrights. With the help of
paralegals, Polster, Lieder is able to keep copyright
registration costs low, thereby making it cost effective
to register your company's valuable copyrights.
-
Licensing
Polster,
Lieder attorneys all have experience in assisting their
clients to license their copyrights to others and
obtaining licenses from third parties. Licenses can be
structured in a myriad of ways to best meet the
expectations and requirements of both parties.
Polster, Lieder attorneys can draw upon their previous
experience to craft a suitable agreement, as well as
utilize creativity in meeting a new situation.
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Prosecuting and Defending Copyright Suits In The Courts
Polster,
Lieder attorneys have prosecuted and defended numerous
suits involving copyrights with great success.
Additionally, copyright suits provide a greater ability
to recover attorney fees than other types of suits (if
the copyright was promptly registered), thereby granting
clients a great opportunity to recover their fees.
Copyright FAQs
-
What Is Copyright?
- What Is Not
Protected by Copyright?
-
What Works Are Protected?
-
I hired an independent contractor to create a website, write
software code, etc., do I own the copyright?
-
What is a work for hire?
-
How Long Does Copyright Protection Last?
-
How do I obtain International Copyright Protection?
What Is Copyright?
Copyright is a
form of protection to the authors of “original works of
authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic,
and certain other intellectual works. The copyright law
generally gives the owner of a copyright the exclusive right to
do the following:
To reproduce
the work in copies;
To prepare
derivative works based upon the work;
To distribute
copies of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of
ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
To perform the
work publicly, in the case of certain works;
To display the
copyrighted work publicly, in the case of certain works; and
To perform the
work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission, in the
case of sound recordings.
Copyrights are
different from patents and trademarks. Patents protect
inventions. For more on patents
click here. Trademarks
protect words, designs or other things used to indicate the
maker of a product or provider of a service. For more on
trademarks
click here.
What Works Are Protected?
-
Any original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of
expression, such as:
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literary works
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musical works, including any accompanying words
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dramatic works, including any accompanying music
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pantomimes and choreographic works
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pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
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motion pictures and other audiovisual works
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sound recordings
-
architectural works
What Is Not Protected by Copyright?
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for
federal copyright protection. These include among others:
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Works that have not been fixed in a tangible
form of expression (for example, choreographic
works that have not been notated or recorded,
or improvisational speeches or performances
that have not been written or recorded);
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Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans;
familiar symbols or designs; mere variations
of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or
coloring; mere listings of ingredients or
contents;
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Inventions, ideas, procedures, methods,
systems, processes, concepts, principles,
discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from
a description, explanation, or illustration;
and
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Works consisting entirely of information that
is common property and containing no original
authorship (for example: standard calendars,
height and weight charts, tape measures and
rulers, telephone book listings, and lists or
tables taken from public documents or other
common sources)
I hired an independent contractor to create a website, write
software code, etc., do I own the copyright?
You may not own
the copyright if you did not specifically agree in your contract
with the person or company that you would own the copyright.
While an employer does own the copyright in all works created by
an employee (called a “work made for hire”), such is not the
case when the person is an independent contractor. Therefore, it
is essential to get a written assignment of all copyrights
generated from the contractor’s work upon the contractor’s
hiring.
The difficulty
in not owning the copyright, particularly to web sites and
computer code, is that you may not make derivative works (i.e.
updates) to the site or the code without the author's
permission, thus tying you to that person for future work.
In certain
limited instances, an independent contractor may not own
the copyright. If you find yourself in the position of not
having an agreement with your independent contractor that
assigns all copyright ownership to you, contact an attorney.
What is a work for hire?
A “work made for hire” is a work prepared by
an employee within the scope of his or her
employment. Under certain conditions, a
specially ordered or commissioned work may
also be a “work made for hire”. The copyright
in a work made for hire is owned by the
employer.
How Long Does Copyright Protection Last?
A work that is
created (fixed in tangible form for the first time) today is
automatically protected from the moment of its creation and is
ordinarily given a term enduring for the author's life plus an
additional 70 years after the author's death. In the case of "a
joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not
work for hire"
the term lasts for 70 years after the last surviving author's
death. For works made for hire, and for anonymous and
pseudonymous works (unless the author's identity is revealed in
Copyright Office records), the duration of copyright will be 95
years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is
shorter.
The term of
copyrights in older works differs depending upon when the work
was created or published. To determine the term of an older
copyright, please contact an attorney.
How do I obtain International Copyright Protection?
As the U.S. Copyright Office's
Circular 38a, entitled
"International Copyright Relations of the United States."
states, "There is no such thing as an "international copyright"
that will automatically protect an author's writings throughout
the entire world. Protection against unauthorized use in a
particular country depends, basically, on the national laws of
that country. However, most countries do offer protection to
foreign works under certain conditions, and these conditions
have been greatly simplified by international copyright treaties
and conventions. For further information and a list of countries
that maintain copyright relations with the United States,
request
Circular 38a.
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