Who Needs a Copyright?

People who want to profit from their creative labors need to protect their works and their marketable values. A copyright gives creators exclusive rights to their creations, as well as the ability to benefit from any of its uses for a defined period of time.

Types

Creative works in the arts and sciences can be protected by copyright. These include books, articles, poems or other writings, art such as paintings, drawings and sculpture, films and videos, and recordings or broadcast programs. Facts and ideas are not covered; only the specific ways in which those facts are communicated are eligible for copyright protection.

Trademarks, Patents and Copyrights

A copyright applies to intellectual property, a patent protects inventions, and a trademark protects a word, phrase or design that creates a brand identity.

Protected Uses

A copyright protects works, whether they are published or non-published, from being copied, published or adapted by anyone but their creator or the business entity which properly owns the copyright. Copyrights can last anywhere from 50 to 100 years from the time of the creator's death, with shorter time spans for works published anonymously or through corporations.

Registration

A copyright is recognized the moment the work is created in a tangible form that can be shared with others. However, registration puts the copyright on public record, and is required before you can bring a lawsuit for copyright infringement.

Rights Protected

A copyright holder can benefit by selling the original work, reproductions or licensing agreements for the work.

"Poor Man's" Copyright

To avoid the expense of formal copyright registration, some people try to prove their original ownership by mailing a copy of the work to themselves with a dated stamp. Some others deposit the work with an attorney. These methods are called a "poor man's" copyright, but they do not substitute for formal registration in a court of law.