I have already written about aspects of copyright law, but exactly is copyright protection? Copyright protects original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression. One way to think of it is it protects creative works that you can somehow see or hear again and again. Works of authorship include the following categories: … Read more
In copyright law, several entities may own different rights in the same piece of material. One way this might happen is one someone builds upon the work of another and creates a derivative work. The original work’s author may still own the rights to the original work, but the newer author now has rights on … Read more
Most creative works are protected by copyright for a very long time, but not all and not forever. Those works not protected are said to be in the public domain. Once in the public domain, others can use the works without needing to obtain permission from (or pay royalties or license fees to) the owner … Read more
Intellectual property rights all come with their very own symbols. They are signs to others about what type of rights are being claimed. I am sure you have seen them, but not everyone is sure which symbol belongs to which right. So let’s go back to grade school, do a matching game. Didn’t know there … Read more
Photo: © 2008 flikr, flikr2639, licensed by Creative Commons You are looking for a nice photograph to take your website from “meh” to “yeah!” After tooling around, you find the perfect one on someone else’s website. It has everything you could hope for in a photo. It is pretty, professional, and just the right amount … Read more
Copyright protects the original expression of an idea, but not the idea itself as copyright protection extends only to “original works of authorship.” That is why we can have lots of books, films, TV movies, songs, and more regarding the life of Marilyn Monroe of varying quality. The threshold of what is an original expression … Read more