The copyright law covers several works, including illustrations, musical compositions, paintings, photographs, computer programs, poems, sounds, books, blog posts, movies, plays, sound recordings, architectural works, etc. Briefly explained, copyrights protect dramatic, artistic, literary, and musical works but not A Brief Walkthrough ideas, facts, operation methods, or systems (unless they get expressed in other acceptable ways).
Distinguishing Between A Copyright, Patent, And Trademark
Patents, trademarks, and copyrights are forms of intellectual property protection. However, all three cover different aspects. For example, under copyrights, an author’s original work gets protection from unauthorized use.
A patent granted by the law protects new inventions and discoveries, designs for manufacturing articles, etc. The trademark law protects words, names, logos, symbols, and devices that distinguish one party’s brand, goods, and services from another. For instance, the Coca-Cola color and logo is a trademark not available for use by other parties.
Copyrights do not protect ideas and discoveries, but the way they get expressed may get covered under the law.
Rights Provided By the Copyright Law
The US Copyright Law offers the following exclusive rights to copyright owners:
- Copyright owners can reproduce the work in the form of physical or digital copies or phonorecords. In addition, copyright owners have the right to produce copies of their original work.
- Copyright owners have the permission to distribute phonorecords or copies of their work to the general public via other ownership or sales transfer methods.
- Copyright registration allows the public performance of the work if it is a choreographic piece, literary, pantomime, musical, dramatic, motion picture, or other audiovisual work.
- Similarly, it encompasses the display of motion pictures, choreographic, pantomime, literary, musical, dramatic, artistic, pictorial, sculptural, or graphic works. It also applies to individual motion picture images or audiovisual pieces.
- The sound recording work through digital audio transmission is available for public performance.
Along with these rights, with the help of a copyright registration application, you can get your original work registered. You also have the right to authorize others to exercise exclusive rights, subject to specific statutory limitations.
When Does Your Work Get Protection?
Under copyright law in the US, your work when created in a tangible form gets protection by default. It must be perceptible directly or through an aid like a machine or a device.
Is It Critical To Register With The Office?
Submitting a copyright registration application is not mandatory. Copyright protection is available as soon as work is created in a tangible form. However, when the copyright owner has to bring an infringement lawsuit, then registration becomes necessary.
Although copyright protection is automatically available upon the creation of your work, registration is advisable as it presents several benefits. A copyright registration service can be helpful to the owner in sending out their application. Having tangible facts is helpful for some owners to use as proof.
Other benefits of registration include eligibility for statutory damages and attorney’s fees in successful litigation. In addition, the court of law would consider registration as prima facie evidence if it occurred within five years of publication.
Copyright registration provides value to the work in the public’s eyes. If anyone tries to claim it as their own, they can get a notice of someone claiming copyright protection. Moreover, it provides records of the nation’s creativity. Thus, obtaining copyrights by incurring a copyright registration cost allows for enhanced protection benefits.
Knowing Poor Man’s Copyright
A poor man’s copyright is the practice of sending a copy of your work to yourself. Unfortunately, the law does not protect against such situations and is not a substitute for copyright registration.
International Impact Of US Copyright
The US has cordial relations with other countries regarding copyright agreements, leading them to respect each other’s citizen copyrights. However, they do not have such relations with every country, and the nature of this relationship may vary.
Ownership Changes And Its Impact
The Copyright Office in the US records copyright-related documents, known as recordation. They review and accept documents and maintain those records with themselves.
Recordation pertains to three documents: transfer of copyright ownership, other copyright-related documents, and the notice of termination. The termination notice is helpful for authors and heirs to use when terminating specific transfers or licenses.
Validity Of Copyright Protection
The copyright protection length varies with the type of work. The work created after January 1, 1978, protects the copyright till the author’s life plus seventy years. For the joint work, the copyright registration cost lasts for seventy years after the last surviving author’s death.
Works for hire, anonymous, or pseudonym offer copyright protection for 95 years after publication or 120 years from creation.
Now You Know!
This brings us to the end of our blog on different types of copyrights and how you could use them to safeguard your business or art. However, remember that copyright is only beneficial once it’s registered. All the best!