COPYRIGHT LAW and COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Copyright Infringement Basics - A Copyright Lawyer's Perspective

2011-08-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

By Enrico Schaefer

Few legal principles inspire more confusion than copyright law. Our copyright lawyers often spend as much time educating our clients as we do digging into their specific legal issues. Copyright law, like other intellectual property rights, is inevitably fact specific. Obtaining legal advice about your specific situation from a qualified copyright attorney is critical. Educating yourself about US copyright law so that you understand what your lawyer is telling you is just as important.

Copyright infringement is the unauthorized use of material that is covered by US copyright law, in a way which violates one of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works. A copyright holders exclusive rights include the right to: reproduce the copyrighted work; prepare derivative works based upon the work; distribute copies of the work to the public; perform the copyrighted work publicly; and display the copyrighted work publicly.

In order to prove a copyright violation of these exclusive rights under U.S. law, a copyright holder copyright holder must show that he/she is the "owner" of an original work and a prima facie case for infringement. Ownership of a copyright is established by showing "authorship" of an original work fixed in a tangible medium - articles, books, pictures, movies, musical recordings, etc. The person who created the original work is the copyright holder. A copyright holder may 'assign' the copyright to a third person, who then has all the exclusive rights of the original author, including reproduction, performance or the making of derivative works. The issue of who actually owns a copyright is one of the most overlooked and oversimplified issues. Some employers assume they own copyrights to their employees work. Employees and independent contractors sometimes incorrectly assume that they own work prepared for third parties. Ownership issues need to be identified and clarified early. Simply claiming ownership or an original work and registering the copyright may leave your copyright registration open to attack at a later date when rights are being asserted.

US Copyright laws help define the basics of copyrights. Section 17 U.S.C. § 102(a) provides: "Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device." An idea is not copyrightable , although it might be patentable. Expression of an idea in a fixed tangible form (i.e., in written pages of a book, on a CD, on a web page, on canvas, as a printed photograph) affords the possibility of copyright protection. While these principles sound complicated, an experienced copyright lawyer can help you understand whether you can copyright protect your original work and receive the protection which copyright law affords.

Infringement occurs when a third person copies the copyright protected work. Unauthorized copying is proved with direct evidence (sometimes copying is obvious or admitted) or inference (not surprisingly, infringers often deny copying). Circumstantial evidence of copying is often important to show infringement.

Registration of a your original work with the US Copyright office is not required for you to have common law rights. However, registration is often critical for enforcement and must occur before filing an infringement suit in Federal Court. Our copyright lawyers often receive calls from authors of original work who failed to register their works before learning of infringement. This can be a critical mistake making enforcement challenging or impossible.

Copyright claims are on the upswing as the internet makes 'copying' as easy as the click of a mouse. Original works are harder than ever to protect. Luckily, innovations in technology makes tracking infringement almost as easy as unauthorized copying. But you aren't protected if you are not monitoring. Owners of original works need to understand how to register their works, as well as how to track on-line infringement in order to maintain their value as the author.

Enrico Schaefer is a copyright lawyer, specializing in intellectual property matters and on-line protection. Go to his web site to learn more about US copyright law or contact a copyright infringement lawyer directly for a free consultation, as well as the particular problems presented by on-line infringement.

Google Images for Royalty Free Photos?

2011-07-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

By Stephen Browne

Searching Google Images is a great way to locate very targeted photos, artwork, drawings, logos, banners, and just about any other type of graphical image you can imagine.

With Google's Advanced Image Search feature, anyone can quickly find niche images segregated by types such as faces, photos, clip art, and line drawings.

In addition, image searches based on your desired niche key words can be filtered by exact size, aspect ratio, file type, black and white vs. color, Internet site, and usage rights.

It is with this last filter that I want to draw your attention.

Most Internet users should know that there are serious copyright infringement issues that keep the public from simply copying and re-using other people's work.

Nowhere is it easier to copy and steal another's hard work than online.

Copyright does not merely protect the written word.

You see, images and photos are also copyrighted as are various mediums of artwork, banners, buttons, headers, e-covers, web designs, and on and on.

For the most part, the images you will find as a result of searching on Google Images will be copyright protected. In fact, you should assume all are.

You are forewarned that copying and re-using these images can get you in a heap of trouble!

There is an exception, however, and that is what I want to bring to your attention.

In Google Image's Advanced Search feature is a filter that allows the user to look for images with certain "Usage Rights."

I have spoken to very few people who actually know about this little gem.

By filtering for usage rights, you can ask Google to limit your image search to only images that are:

not filtered by license
labeled for reuse
labeled for commercial reuse
labeled for reuse with modification
labeled for commercial reuse with modification
Let's do a quick search for some niche images to see what we can find.

Let's say I have a new web site all about baking cookies and I want some images for the site as well as my soon-to-be-released book I'm going to title: Chocolate Chip Cookies -- 101 Best Recipes.

We go to Google Images ( http://images.google.com ), click on the Advanced Image Search, and set the "find results" filter to "related to the exact phrase" then type in our key word phrase "chocolate chip cookies."

For our purposes here we will not filter by image size, aspect ratio, coloration, etc.

But we will filter the Usage Rights to return images that are "labeled for commercial reuse with modification."

By using this filter, we should be able to find some great images that we can crop, re-size, add text to, etc.

In other words, we can modify the image for our own commercial purposes and publish it to our web site, the new book, our advertising campaigns, etc.

The search returned 105 results. Upon reviewing the images, many are not what I would want, but there are still some great looking, very professional images that I wouldn't hesitate to reuse.

Obviously, if you are not intending to use the image commercially, you will have more search results returned (this particular search filtered with "labeled for reuse" returned 198 results).

There are a number of good royalty free image sites online that you shouldn't overlook if you need some graphical images for your projects.

Now you can add Google Images to your list even if you have commercial intent. Just be sure to use the proper Usage Rights filter depending upon how you intend to make use of the image in your project.

You need help to create and run a successful online business. Steve Browne is educated, trained, and experienced in offline and online business creation and management and he is sharing his insights and guidance freely in his new money making blog. Join his blog subscriber list today and you'll receive a free copy of "Art of Money Getting" to help you get started. No cost, no obligation, no fluff, no sweat! Click on this link now http://www.howtomakemoneyonlinesimply.com/blog/ to find help for your own profitable online business.

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How to Research the Copyright Status of a Book

2011-07-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

By Steven Chabotte
When seeking US published works in the public domain, there is a gray area from 1923 to 1963 where the book may or may not be in the public domain. To determine if a book with a copyright in that date range is in the public domain and freely usable, take the following steps.
Some background on copyright length in the United States
Created 1-1-78 or after - Life + 70 years1(or if work of corporate authorship, the shorter of 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation
Published before 1923 - In the public domain
Published from 1923 - 1963 - 28 years + could be renewed for 47 years, now extended by 20 years for a total renewal of 67 years. If not so renewed, now in public domain.
Published from 1964 - 77 - 28 years for first term; now automatic extension of 67 years for second term
Created before 1-1-78 but not published - Life + 70 years or 12-31-2002, whichever is greater
Created before 1-1-78 but published between then and 12-31-2002 - Life + 70 years or 12-31-2047 whichever is greater

There is one other issue to be aware of - and that is derivative works. For instance, you may find a current book that is apparently a reprint of a public domain book that bears a copyright notice. You may think that because the original book is public domain that this book should be too. Don't let yourself get caught in that trap and use material from this copyrighted book. The way copyright works is that you can create a derivative work from an original public domain work and copyright that derivative work.

The original book is still public domain but the derivative work would not be. If you want to use this material, you must find the original book and use that as your basis because you can never be sure what was changed/edited in the derivative work and if you start copying it, you may fall afoul of a copyright violation.

ALWAYS BASE ANY WORK YOU DO ON AN ORIGINAL PUBLIC DOMAIN SOURCE TO BE SAFE.

If you find a useful book published before 1923, that is great. You don't need to do any verification work to create your product. However, if the book was copyrighted between 1923 and 1963, it may still be under copyright. Estimates are that only 15% of all materials copyrighted in this period were renewed so there is a TON of material available for your use in this period. And much of that material was equivalent to best sellers today so there are many hidden gems out there just waiting to be freshened up and revealed to the world again.

So how do you verify the copyright expiration of one of these books?

There are three approaches you can take. You can do it yourself, hire a law firm to do a search or have the copyright office perform a search for you.

Do it yourself

Doing it yourself is pretty easy but can be a bit time consuming.

If the book was copyrighted between 1950 and 1963, you can perform an online search at the copyright office at this link: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/search/. This database contains copyright information from 1978 to the current date. Therefore it is limited to doing searches on books copyrighted from 1950 onward. (1950 + 28 = 1978 which is the year a book copyrighted in 1950 would have been renewed.)

If the book was published between 1923 and 1949, you can go to The Catalog of Copyright Entries. This is a manual search through a large number of alphabetic digitized images. It is a slow process but it is effective. Just to be complete, it is always a good idea to take a few minutes to check a few years around the year plus 28 just in case the renewal fell into another year.

As you do your research, you should print a copy of all the negative results and keep it in a folder as evidence of doing a copyright search.

Have the Copyright office do the search for you

The copyright office will perform a copyright search for you. They do charge an open fee (on an hourly basis) for performing the search and they do take a very long time (typically 6-12 weeks) so while this is an option, it is not a very popular option.

Hire a law firm

You can hire a law firm like Thompson & Thompson to perform a copyright search for you. It is reasonably priced and you will get a detailed report of the results of the copyright search that they performed. The search is reasonably priced and gives you the added security of having a law firm claiming that the copyright is expired and that the work is in the public domain in case there are disputes down the road.

Never perfect

Like any system, searching an expired copyright is not perfect. There may be other claims on a published work or errors and omissions in the copyright files due to human errors. Always keep good records of your search activities to protect yourself on that one in a million chance that there was an unknown claim on the work you choose to work with.

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How to Copyright or Trademark Your Business

2011-07-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

by Tamara Garrison Thomas

In my business consulting, I have found that a lot of people do not know the difference between copyright and trademark. They do not know how to copyright a logo, website, blog or business name. Or in using the actual term, TRADEMARK their business. I used 'copyright' in the title because most people confuse the two. However, as I researched this subject I found out some interesting things...

Copyright is actually not the same as a trademark. According to the U.S. Copyright Office, a copyright provides protection for original works in the realms of music, poetry, movies, literature, etc. In fact, copyright exists as soon as the publication exists. It is just advised to register your publication with the U.S. Copyright Office for legal purposes. Some people also like to publish the copyright facts on their publications and make sure there is a public record. Registration fees vary from $35 to $80. It cost more money to renew, get copies, or search copyright records. Believe it or not, people steal ideas so you want to make sure you are protected. And for a mere $35 at least, I'd say it's a good idea to make sure your writings are safe, LEGALLY.

Now to the good stuff. A trademark is what is used to protect patents, trademarks, and ideas. This is handled in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). So, a business name, logo, or even business idea would fall under the trademark category. It is often confused with copyright but now you know the difference. The reason you would want to register for a trademark is to get legal use of a service mark (™, SM ,®) for your word, phrase, symbol, or design.

The benefits of getting the service mark is to protect your name. To keep people from stealing your ideas. Just like with copyright, if you claim ownership, you can use the ™ and SM symbols on your business name or logo at any time. But owning the federal trademark registration obviously has it's benefits legally. Some of which include, being able to defend your logo in federal courts, being listed in the USPTO database, and the use of the ® symbol. YES! You MUST be registered with the USPTO to use that symbol on your logos, etc. You cannot even use it if your application for registration is pending. So, there are great benefits to registering your business name and logo.

Now, keep in mind, the USPTO has the right to deny your registration application. Especially if there's a similar logo. So, you need to research and make sure your business name and logo are UNIQUE and fit federal regulations. When filing an application for trademark registration (or to get a service mark) you must file one application per category(class) you the need the service mark for. FOR EXAMPLE, if you need a service mark for a t-shirt logo AND for the store marquee, you must submit two applications. Application fees vary from $275-$325, depending on the type of application you submit.

I know it sounds a bit complex and confusing but registering your business name and logo are so worth the protection. Especially if you're an owner that offers services/goods, merchandiser, designer, or inventor that's about to BLOW UP! You can of course find out more and get an application at http://www.USPTO.gov

For help on a business plan and development contact us today!

Tamara Garrison-Thomas
http://www.garrisonprosperitysolutions.com

Legal Music For YouTube - Four Ways to Address Client Concerns About Copyrights

2011-07-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

By Mike Bielenberg

Let's assume you are a creative professional being compensated to create a video for a client. Let's also assume your client will NOT be broadcasting the video on television nor distributing it on DVD, but WILL be distributing the video on the internet (their website, YouTube etc), presenting it at meetings and even showing it at a trade shows. Let's also assume that you, the creative expert, are expected to handle any and all copyright clearances for the video, including the soundtrack.

How do you ensure your soundtrack is cleared for all these uses and that no embarrassing copyright issues will emerge down the road? The digital marketplace offers lots of music that can be used without paying any license fees, but there will always be a direct relationship between the amount you pay to use a piece of music and the amount of control you (or your client) have over that music. For example, that $0.89 you spent on iTunes for a Van Morrison single only allows you to enjoy that song on your iPod...and nothing else. But move that decimal point four places to the right and you can probably use it in your independent film until the cows come home. Here's the breakdown of everything in between:

I. Royalty-free music libraries

(*Full disclaimer: I co-own a royalty-free production music library).

For as little as $10, a production music library will deliver a high rez version of a piece of music to you along with a license document (or at least a receipt) that lists both you and your chosen track specifically. Because you're getting compensated by your client, it would be valuable for you to have a paper trail like this. Most royalty-free libraries will even conduct the music search for you at no charge. They know their library better than you. So why sift through thousands of tracks when you should be editing video?

What's the catch? Most stock music libraries won't carry famous songs that your client knows. They may carry "sound-a-likes", but that information definitely won't be listed on their website. You have to discuss that directly with a sales rep.

Also, a royalty-free music library is the most expense solution offered here. $10 is definitely the bottom of the price range whereas the average price is probably between $30 and $50 per track. If your client is willing to pay this fee in return for a relatively high degree of control over their music, then this is your best option.

II. Your own video software

I recently edited together a family video using iMovie and Soundtrack Pro and entered it into an online contest. While there wasn't a huge library of tracks, I quickly found something that worked well and incorporated it into my video quickly.In order to stay competitive, many video software makers completely buy out the copyrights to instrumental music tracks and bundle them with their product. Soundtrack Pro's license agreement reads as follows:

"You may broadcast and/or distribute your own soundtracks that were created using the Audio Content, however, individual audio files may not be commercially or otherwise distributed on a standalone basis, nor may they be repackaged in whole or in part as audio samples, sound files or music beds." That type of license should work fine for your project.

What's the catch? Selection. I've worked for organizations that bought copyrights outright and I can say from experience that a collection that is "wholly-owned" can never be as dynamic, large or comprehensive as a user contributed music library. You're at the mercy of what content Apple is willing to acquire. It's easy for libraries like that to become "stale" and overused.

III. YouTube's AudioSwap

YouTube's approach to copyright infringement has evolved into a simple ultimatum given to all major labels and movie studios: YouTube's software will block their copyrighted content, but wouldn't they rather just let it happen and share the ad revenue?

The answer from many of the major record labels is "yes".

Therefore, you could theoretically synchronize your client's video with Aerosmith's "Dream On" in hopes that Columbia records lets you slide on copyright infringement. Just be sure to cross both fingers and kiss a rabbit's foot as you upload the video.

In order to offer a less risky alternative, YouTube has received permission from lesser known bands and musicians to create an online music library from which creative professionals like yourself can choose a track from that library and let YouTube automatically synchronize the music track with your video. Some of these tracks are fairly well known.

What's the catch? Your video will ONLY play with that music on YouTube's website. And the music rights holder controls which ads run alongside your video. If your client plans to include this video in an email campaign or just embed it on their website, that may not be a deal breaker. But they ever want to present the video at a meeting or gathering of any kind, they'll need to ensure the location has an Internet connection.

In order to use this music for free, your client is essentially entering into partnership with this rights holder to help them earn more ad revenue for their song. Also, the rights holders of this music can withdraw their music from YouTube, and thus your video, at any time. Your client may ultimately be ok with these risks, but you should at least make them aware.

IV. Creative Commons

I've included this option last because Creative Commons rights are both complicated and, in sprit, not always supportive of commercial usage. There are no less than six (!) types of Creative Commons licenses. Assuming your client intends to directly or indirectly generate revenue from this video, you'll have to confine your music search to tracks that fall under the license called "Attribution-Only".You may find a "diamond in the rough" from this subset of music available through Creative Commons, but be aware that "Attribution" means you must credit the artist at some point in the video. Most clients are ok with that.

V. Conclusion

It's all about choosing what kind of parameters you and client are most comfortable working within: lack of control (AudioSwap or outright infringement), a music license that may cost up to $50 (stock music libraries) or a limited selection (creative commons or your video software).

Mike Bielenberg is a professional musician and co-founder of MusicRevolution.com http://www.musicrevolution.com, a production music marketplace where media producers and business owners can license high-quality, affordable royalty-free music from an online community of musicians.

Using Creative Commons in Conjunction With Article Marketing

2011-07-06T17:13:00.000-07:00

By Jason Bacot

"Creative Commons" is a relatively new search concept that many of the major search engines are utilizing lately. Yahoo, Google, and Firefox have launched Beta versions of the "Creative Commons" search feature and they have been steadily increasing in popularity recently. The goal of this feature is to locate content posted on the Internet that carries a "Creative Commons" type of license. Content carrying this license can be shared with others and is of great benefit to article marketers all over the world because it greatly increases their exposure.

Exposure is very important to article writers because without it, their visibility is very limited. Articles given a "Creative Commons" license can be published on many different websites, thereby greatly increasing the writer's exposure. In addition, submitting these articles to the major search engines that are using the "Creative Commons" search feature will get the articles distributed to a huge number of people.

There are a few things you must do, however, in order to submit your articles to the search engines carrying the "Creative Commons" search features. First, you must decide upon the type of license you need by going to the creative commons website and studying the different types.

Next, you will need to decide if you would like to permit your articles to be used commercially, as well as if you would want to let your articles be modified in any way by the sites using them. You will be asked to make these decisions before proceeding so think about this beforehand and be prepared. Once you do this, you will need to select your license.

After these first two steps are completed, you will be directed to a page that will instruct you to cut and then copy some text displayed there. You will be able to paste this copied text onto your own website. The copied text will state that your articles now have a "Creative Commons" type of license.

Before making the decisions in the second step, you need to think carefully. It really makes no sense to allow others to modify your articles. Modification could render them confusing and less valuable. If you have worked hard to make your article persuasive and magnetic, you don't want someone coming along that will cut out or change part of it. This could change it in such a way that would render it useless. If you are trying to build your reputation so that you can increase your customer base, you should not allow anyone to modify your work. Doing so could really bring harm to what you are trying to do. Keep in mind, too, that "Creative Commons" licenses cannot be revoked. Once you make the decision regarding type and preferences, you won't be able to change it.

Once your decisions are made and you have the license displayed on your website, the "Creative Commons" search engines should start picking it up within two to three weeks. Make sure you place some well-thought-out back-links in various places on the web. These measures will cause many links to be created that will point directly to your website. You should really take advantage of the exposure the "Creative Commons" license will provide for you if you want your business to experience significant growth.

Want to learn more about Article Marketing and How to Make Money Online, then check out our Article Marketing SEO Service to get started.

Copyright Registration Is Not A Pre Condition To Protection

2011-06-19T04:35:00.000-07:00

by John J Tormey III, Esq -

Contrary to the near-indefatigable lay assumption that entertainment attorneys like myself hear all the time, one is not required to register a copyright in one's work with the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. (or elsewhere) as a condition precedent for U.S. copyright protection. In other words, the New York-based author in Chelsea, for example, already has copyright protection in his or her finished original work of authorship, under U.S. federal law, just as soon as the work is reduced to a tangible medium of expression in New York. That copyright protection is automatic, and inheres in the Chelsea-situate New York author immediately, his or her entertainment lawyer will opine.

Therefore, when the New York entertainment attorney hears the Chelsea-based New York writer saying "I 'copyrighted' my novel by registering it with the Library of Congress and the Copyright Office in Washington, D.C.", the writer is usually operating under a mistaken set of geographic and legal assumptions. It is incumbent upon entertainment lawyers to correct those assumptions. This one is a particularly difficult myth to explode - because members of Congress, those that write and edit case law, and a few jurisprudential scholars have been known to use "copyrighted" as a verb form, too. When I hear it, it sounds to me like nails on a chalkboard.

So, "No", the New York entertainment attorney replies to the New York writer in Chelsea, "you already had automatic copyright protection in your work as soon as you wrote down the text - as soon as you reduced your vision to a 'tangible medium of expression'. Your act of mailing it from a post office on Manhattan's West Side in New York City, to Washington D.C., isn't what engendered the copyright. Rather, your prior act of crystallizing it in a tangible medium here in downtown West Side New York - pen to paper, or keystroke to hard-drive - is what caused the copyright in your work to be born. The New York entertainment attorney then explains that the phrases and verb forms "to copyright" or "I copyrighted" should probably be avoided outright - certainly avoided as synonyms for "registration" or "filing" - specifically to prevent that kind of lay confusion. After all, if the Chelsea screenwriter in New York "copyrighted"[sic] his or her work only by mailing it to Washington D.C. on Friday morning, then that would imply that no copyright yet existed in the work when he or she completed the final draft, hit the "Save" button on his keyboard, and printed it out in hard-copy form in his or her Chelsea home office in Manhattan on the Thursday evening prior - and that conclusion would be legally incorrect. In that fact pattern, the entertainment lawyer opines, the copyright existed and the screenwriter owned it as of Thursday evening based upon the events that happened in downtown West Side New York.

The process of U.S. copyright registration is just an after-occurring formality, though it is one which entertainment attorneys (from New York, and yes, even elsewhere in places like Hollywood) handle for their clients often. In other words, the work is already copyright-protected prior to one's mailed submission of the work from New York or any other city, to the U.S. Copyright Office and Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Yes, U.S. copyright registration does thereafter provide certain advantages over unregistered works, as your entertainment lawyer will tell you. But copyright registration is not itself a pre-requisite for copyright protection. The copyright protection exists first. The copyright filing comes second.

After all, the USCO form specifically asks the filer when - in what year - his or her work was completed. You could in theory file in 2011 for a 2006-completed work. In that case, the copyright would have existed as of 2006.

Under the U.S. Copyright Act, (which can be found at various locations on the Internet, at 17 United States Code [U.S.C.] Section 101 and following), the author of an original and otherwise-protectable work automatically possesses a copyright in that work as soon as the work is reduced to a "tangible medium of expression". No later.

The New York choreographer on Manhattan's West Side improvises a new set of dance steps for her students - fleeting, in the air - but owns no copyright in these movements or their performance or rendition. However, the moment she writes down the original dance steps using a detailed graphic chart, or videotapes herself performing them in her New York studio - perhaps at her entertainment lawyer's suggestion - she may then have a chance to claim some copyright-protected work. The key, again, is the work's reduction to a fixed medium. In fact, she may own the copyright in that material without ever interacting with Washington, D.C. - even though her entertainment attorney will tell her that it sure would be a good idea to thereafter mail a filing to D.C. if the original work of authorship is perceived to have any economic or other long-term value.

And this makes sense. Look at it from the perspective of copyright enforcement - from the perspective of the New York entertainment attorney litigator trying to prove or disprove copyright infringement in a court of law downtown at 500 Pearl Street. How difficult would the job be of a federal judge or jury in a U.S. copyright infringement litigation in the Southern or Eastern Districts of New York, or that of a U.S. Copyright Office Examiner in Washington, D.C., if the U.S. Congress allowed all of us to claim copyright in the inchoate and evanescent? The courts in New York and indeed nationwide would be inundated with strike suits and other spurious copyright claims, perhaps more often brought by pro se litigants rather than their entertainment lawyers if any. Therefore, Congress doesn't let us get away with it. Congress requires reduction to a "tangible medium of expression" as a pre-condition for copyright protection. But no, Congress does not require copyright registration as a pre-condition to copyright ownership itself - rather, copyright registration at or around the time of creation is discretionary with the copyright owner. Congress only requires copyright registration as a pre-condition to filing a lawsuit for copyright infringement - something that your entertainment lawyer litigator won't miss when reviewing the statute pre-filing of the federal court lawsuit.

Yes, your entertainment attorney will tell you that after-occurring copyright registration of a work does provide certain strategic advantages, relative to unregistered works. Copyright registration notifies those of us in New York, and in California, the U.S., and the rest of the world, at least constructively, that the copyright claimant thinks he or she owns the copyright in that registered work. Practically speaking, copyright registration creates a likelihood that another company including its own entertainment attorney performing a copyright search, will "pick up" (i.e., see, or notice) the previously-registered work, when that company or its entertainment lawyer counsel later conduct a thorough professional (or for that matter even a cursory and informal) ocular copyright search of the public records of the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Copyright Office. Most film studios and their entertainment attorneys perform thorough copyright searches as a matter of course, for example, before optioning an author's literary work.

As discussed above, whether you live in New York, Los Angeles, or elsewhere, copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. is also a necessary precursor to your entertainment attorney litigator bringing a copyright infringement litigation in a U.S. federal court. For this reason, in practice, individuals and companies and their entertainment lawyers have been occasionally known to register their copyrights days - or even hours, paying an emergency rush filing fee using a New York-to-D.C. Fed Ex - before they sue for copyright infringement in federal court. Of course, the entertainment lawyer will tell you that it is better to register the work at an earlier stage than that. Filing a copyright infringement litigation predicated upon a USCO copyright registration in turn allows for the entertainment attorney litigator to recover certain types of damages afforded by the U.S. Copyright Act, such as "statutory" damages, and plaintiffs' attorneys fees. These types of damages would not be availing to the copyright plaintiff if his or her entertainment lawyer sued using a different common law theory. A copyright registration may also work advantages in terms of certain international copyright protections.

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This article is not intended to, and does not constitute, legal advice with respect to your particular situation and fact pattern. Do secure counsel promptly, if you see any legal issue looming on the horizon which may affect your career or your rights. What applies in one context, may not apply to the next one. Make sure that you seek individualized legal advice as to any important matter pertaining to your career or your rights generally.

Copyright Registration Is Not A Pre-Condition To Protection
(C) John J. Tormey III, PLLC. All Rights Reserved.

My practice as a New York entertainment attorney includes copyright registration work in music, film, television, publishing, Internet, media, and all artistic fields. If you have questions about legal issues which affect your career, and require representation, please contact me:

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Public Domain - Very Important Data About Worldwide Copyrights

2011-06-19T04:33:00.000-07:00

by Heinz Regniet -

The public domain is a range of abstract materials-commonly referred to as intellectual property-which are not owned or controlled by anyone.The term indicates that these materials are therefore "public property", and available for anyone to use for any purpose.

The laws of various countries define the scope of the public domain differently, making it necessary to specify which jurisdiction's public domain is being discussed.Furthermore, the public domain can be defined in contrast to several forms of intellectual property; the public domain in contrast to copyrighted works is different from the public domain in contrast to trademarks or patented works.

The public domain is most often discussed in contrast to works restricted by copyright.Under modern law, most original works of art, literature, music, etc are covered by copyright from the time of their creation for a limited period of time (which varies by country).When the copyright expires, the work enters the public domain.
About 15 percent of all books are in the public domain, including 10 percent of all books that are still in print.

The public domain can also be defined in contrast to trademarks. Names, logos, and other identifying marks used in commerce can be restricted as proprietary trademarks for a single business to use.Trademarks can be maintained indefinitely, but they can also lapse through disuse, negligence, or widespread misuse, and enter the public domain.

It is possible, however, for a lapsed trademark to become proprietary again, leaving the public domain.

The public domain also contrasts with patents.

New inventions can be registered and granted patents restricting others from using them without permission from the inventor.

Like copyrights, patents last for a limited period of time, after which the inventions covered by them enter the public domain and can be used by anyone.

Intellectual property law, Primary rights, Copyright, Patents, Trademarks, Industrial design rights, Utility models, Geographical indication, Trade secrets, Related rights, Trade names, Domain names, Sui generis rights, Database rights, Mask work, Plant breeder´s rights, Supplementary protection certificate, Indigenous intellectual property.

A creative work is said to be in the public domain if there are no laws which restrict its use by the public at large. For instance, a work may be in the public domain if no laws establish proprietary rights over the work, or if the work or its subject matter are specifically excluded from existing laws. Because proprietary rights are founded in national laws, an item may be public domain in one jurisdiction but not another. For instance, some works of literature are public domain in the United States but not in the European Union and vice versa.

The underlying idea that is expressed or manifested in the creation of a work generally cannot be the subject of copyright law (see idea-expression divide). Mathematical formula will therefore generally form part of the public domain, to the extent that their expression in the form of software is not covered by copyright; however, algorithms can be the subject of a software patent in some jurisdictions.

Works created before the existence of copyright and patent laws also form part of the public domain. The Bible and the inventions of Archimedes are in the public domain. However, copyright may exist in translations or new formulations of these works. Although "intellectual property" laws are not designed to prevent facts from entering the public domain, collections of facts organized or presented in a creative way, such as categorized lists, may be copyrighted.

Collections of data with intuitive organization, such as alphabetized directories like telephone directories, are generally not copyrightable.

In some countries copyright-like rights are granted for databases, even those containing mere facts. A sui generis database rights regime is in place in the European Union.
Works of the United States Government and various other governments are excluded from copyright law and may therefore be considered to be in the public domain in their respective countries. They may also be in the public domain in other countries as well.

All copyrights and patents have always had a finite term, though the terms for copyrights and patents differ.When terms expire, the work or invention is released into public domain.
In most countries, the term for patents is 20 years.

A trademark registration may be renewed and remain in force indefinitely provided the trademark is used, but could otherwise become generic.

Copyrights are more complex than patents; generally, in current law, the copyright in a published work expires in all countries (except Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Samoa, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) when any of the following conditions are satisfied :The work was created and first published before January 1, 1923, or at least 95 years before January 1 of the current year, whichever is later;The last surviving author died at least 70 years before January 1 of the current year;No Berne Convention signatory has passed a perpetual copyright on the work; and neither the United States nor the European Union has passed a copyright term extension since these conditions were last updated. This must be a condition because the exact numbers in the other conditions depend on the state of the law at any given moment.

These conditions are based on the intersection of United States and European Union copyright law, which most other Berne Convention signatories recognize. Note that copyright term extension under US tradition usually does not restore copyright to public domain works (hence the 1923 date), but European tradition does because the EU harmonization was based on the copyright term in Germany, which had already been extended to life plus 70. United States law all or part of this article may be confusing or unclear.

In the United States, copyright law has changed several times since the founding of the country.
Rural that Congress does not have the power to re-copyright works that have fallen into the public domain.

"After World War I and after World War II, there were special amendments to the Copyright Act to permit for a limited time and under certain conditions the recapture of works that might have fallen into the public domain, principally by aliens of countries with which we had been at war.
Works created by an agency of the United States government are public domain at the moment of creation.

Examples include military journalism, federal court opinions (but not necessarily state court opinions), congressional committee reports, and census data. However, works commissioned by the government but created by a contractor are still subject to copyright, and even in the case of public domain documents, availability of such documents may be limited by laws limiting the spread of classified information.

Before 1978, unpublished works were not covered by the federal copyright act This does not mean that the works were in the public domain. Rather, it means that they were covered under (perpetual) common law copyright The Copyright Act of 1976, effective 1978, abolished common law copyright in the United States; all works, published and unpublished, are now covered by federal statutory copyright.

The claim that "pre-1923 works are in the public domain" is correct only for published works; unpublished works are under federal copyright for at least the life of the author plus 70 years.
For a work made for hire, the copyright in a work created before 1978, but not theretofore in the public domain or registered for copyright, subsists from January 1, 1978, and endures for a term of 95 years from the year of its first publication, or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first. If the work was created before 1978 but first published on or before December 31, 2002, the work is covered by federal copyright until 2047.

Works published with notice of copyright or registered in unpublished form prior to January 1, 1964, had to be renewed during the 28th year of their first term of copyright to maintain copyright for a full 95-year term.

Until the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988, the lack of a proper copyright notice would place an otherwise copyrightable work into the public domain, although for works published between January 1, 1978 and February 28, 1989, this could be prevented by registering the work with the Library of Congress within 5 years of publication. After March 1, 1989, an author's copyright in a work begins when it is fixed in a tangible form; neither publication nor registration is required, and a lack of a copyright notice does not place the work into the public domain.

Sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, were generally covered by common law or in some cases by statutes enacted in certain states, but were not covered by federal copyright law.
The 1976 Copyright Act, effective 1978, provides federal copyright for unpublished and published sound recordings fixed on or after February 15, 1972. Recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, are still covered, to varying degrees, by common law or state statutes. Any rights or remedies under state law for sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, are not annulled or limited by the 1976 Copyright Act until February 15, 2067.

Critics of copyright term extensions have said that Congress has achieved a perpetual copyright term "on the installment plan.

British government works are restricted by either Crown Copyright or Parliamentary Copyright.
Published Crown Copyright works become public domain at the end of the year 50 years after they were published, unless the author of the work held copyright and assigned it to the Crown.
In that case, the copyright term is the usual life of author plus 70 years Unpublished Crown Copyright documents become public domain at the end of the year 125 years after they were first created.

However, under the legislation that created this rule, and abolished the traditional common law perpetual copyright of unpublished works, no unpublished works will become public domain until 50 years after the legislation came into effect.

Since the legislation became law on 1 August 1989, no unpublished works will become public domain under this provision until 2039.

Parliamentary Copyright documents become public domain at the end of the year 50 years after they were published.

Crown Copyright is waived on some government works provided that certain conditions are met.
These numbers reflect the most recent extensions of copyright in the United States and Europe.

Canada and New Zealand have not, as of 2006, passed similar twenty-year extensions
Consequently, their copyright expiry times are still life of the author plus 50 years.

Australia passed a 20-year copyright extension in 2004, but delayed its effect until 2005, and did not make it revive already-expired copyrights.
Hence, in Australia works by authors who died before 1955 are still in the public domain.

As a result, works ranging from Peter Pan to the stories of H. Lovecraft are public domain in both countries.(The copyright status of Lovecraft's work is debatable, as no copyright renewals, which were necessary under the laws of that time, have been found.

Also, two competing parties have independently claimed copyright ownership on his work.
As with most other Commonwealth of Nations countries, Canada and Australia follow the general lead of the United Kingdom on copyright of government works.Both have a version of Crown Copyright which lasts for 50 years from publication.

New Zealand also has Crown Copyright, but has a much greater time length, at 100 years from the date of publication.

India has a government copyright of sixty years from publication, to coincide with its somewhat unusual life of the author plus sixty years term of copyright. According to Thai copyright law, the copyright term is the life of author plus 50 years.When the author is a legal entity or an anonymous person, the copyright term is 50 years from the date of publication.

Works of applied art (defined as drawings, paintings, sculpture, prints, architecture, photography, drafts, and models) have a copyright term of 25 years from publication.

Republication of works after the expiration of the copyright term does not reset the copyright term.
Thai state documents are public domain,but creative works produced by or commissioned by government offices are protected by copyright.

Japanese copyright law does not mention public domain. Hence, even when some materials are said to be "in the public domain" there can be some use restrictions. In that case, the term copyright-free is sometimes used instead. Many pre-1953 both Japanese and non-Japanese films are considered to be in the public domain in Japan.

Examples of inventions whose patents have expired include the inventions of Thomas Edison.
Examples of works whose copyrights have expired include the works of Carlo Collodi, Mozart, and most of the works of Mark Twain, excluding the work first published in 2001, A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage.

In the United States, the images of Frank Capra's classic film, It's a Wonderful Life (1946) entered into the public domain in 1974, because someone inadvertently failed to file a copyright renewal application with the Copyright Office during the 28th year after the film's release or publication.

Although copyright law generally does not provide any statutory means to "abandon" copyright so that a work can enter the public domain, this does not mean that it is impossible or even difficult, only that the law is somewhat unclear.

Copyright Bill Would Cost Songwriters $35 Million a Year

2011-03-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

If the Harper government's proposed copyright legislation, Bill C-32, were to pass, it would reduce by $34.9 million the revenues songwriters and music publishers earn from licensing the right to reproduce songs. The lost revenue would represent 45% of the annual royalties collected by CMRRA-SODRAC Inc. (CSI), which collects royalties for the reproduction of songs.

The changes proposed by the government would allow broadcasters to copy music for use in programming their increasingly automated stations and networks without permission from, or payment to, songwriters or music copyright owners.

In testimony today, CSI President David Basskin, told the Legislative Committee examining Bill C-32: "They'll tell you the copies broadcasters make are worthless. That's nonsense. Expert evidence, accepted by the Copyright Board of Canada, extensively documents the benefits commercial radio broadcasters receive. For instance, through 'voice tracking', broadcasters can produce a four-hour program in 20 or 30 minutes."

Last week, commercial radio broadcasters told the Committee that current music royalty rates are unreasonable and unsustainable. CSI provided evidence to the Committee today that such stations pay all copyright owners, including CSI, just 5.7% of their revenue, despite the fact that music makes up 80% of their programming. They also provided evidence that, in 2009, despite a severe recession, their pre-tax profit margin was 21.2%.

CSI told the Legislative Committee that other provisions in Bill C-32 would also undermine the rights of its members. Failure to modernize the existing private copying provisions would result in the rapid disappearance of private copying revenues. The Bill also authorizes the making of uncompensated "technological reproductions", multiple backup copies, and the distribution of user-generated content through profitable commercial intermediaries like YouTube.

"Modernizing the Copyright Act should aim to create a stable, innovation-friendly environment without eliminating existing or potential royalty sources for creators," said CSI's Vice-President, Alain Lauzon. "The current law is technologically neutral and this principle should not be called into question. What constitutes copying or reproduction today should remain so as technologies continue to evolve."

CSI is a joint venture of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Limited (CMRRA) and the Society for Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers in Canada (SODRAC). CMRRA and SODRAC represent the reproduction rights of the authors and publishers of more than 90% of the musical works sold or broadcast in Canada.

Copyright - The Concept of Fixed Creations

2011-03-06T04:57:00.000-08:00

by Richard Chapo -

Copyright law is loved by creators of material that can be copyrighted and disliked by most everyone else. Before the web rolled around, the scope of copyright law was fairly well established. Once the world started going digital, all heck broke loose. If you want to understand copyright, you need to grasp what can be copyrighted. This brings us to the concept of fixed creations.

Although I stink at them, I enjoy a good video game or two. To say they have evolved beyond the first games of Pong and Missile Command is a slight understatement. What might surprise you, however, is to learn that copyright law has evolved massively as well when it comes to video games. How so? The first games were not allowed to be copyrighted! We'll get back to that in a moment because it fleshes out the concept of fixed creations.

So, what is a fixed creation of the mind? It is an original work that is a result of the creativity of the author. It cannot be something that is simply observed or already exists. Let's consider some examples.

Stephen King is a rather prolific writer. Imagine his writing process. He sits and thinks up some truly wild things in his mind. This is then reduced to writing and published. The resulting book is clearly a product of his imagination and is fixed in the form of text. It is a classic copyrightable item.

Now let's return to our video game issue. The first video games were not allowed to be copyrighted because courts ruled the moving images were manifested by the players, and thus weren't creative. This obviously tells us how little judges understood in regard to video games. Eventually, an enterprising lawyer was able to get a judge to understand that the game was made up of a creative idea of a designer that was reduced to code and could be replicated. Given this, the game was a fixed creation of the mind and could be copyrighted. If this change hadn't been made, you would associate Halo with angels instead of Xbox.

Copyright is a fairly simple concept to understand in theory. Applying it to real world situations can be a bit more complex. Making sure you understand the concept of fixed creations will take you a long way to getting it right.

Richard A. Chapo is with SanDiegoBusinessLawFirm.com - providing copyright transfer agreement preparation services.

Public Domain and Copyright Protection

2011-03-06T04:52:00.000-08:00

by Sarah Kolb -

It's illegal to use someone else's copyrighted work without their permission, but a copyright registration doesn't last forever. In fact, a copyright lasts only a certain number of years past the author's death; when the registration ceases to be valid, the work enters the public domain and is freely available for use by anyone who chooses to use it. So how do you determine whether a work's copyright registration has run out -- our whether that work was ever registered in the first place? These questions seem straightforward, but the answers are more complex than you might think.

Unfortunately, if you'd like to use a particular work but you're not sure where to start, it's your own responsibility to determine whether it's protected by a copyright or in the public domain. A work might be in the public domain for any number of reasons; in order to figure out if you're free to use a work, there are a few questions you should ask yourself.

Is it an original work, or an idea?

Not everything is able to be copyrighted. Only "original works" that have been "fixed in a tangible medium" are able to be copyrighted -- the underlying idea is not. In addition, blank forms and other documents that contain no original work cannot be protected: ledgers, weight charts, address books, score cards, and other similar works are ineligible for copyright protection. Standard calendars are also ineligible -- however, while the calendar aspect cannot be protected, any artwork or photography that accompanies the calendar could be protected as a work of visual art.

Here are a few examples of things that cannot be copyrighted and, therefore, can be freely used:

* Someone writes a fictional children's book about dinosaurs, and they copyright the text. You want to write your own book about dinosaurs. Understand that it's the text alone that is protected from infringement, not the idea of fictional dinosaur friends going on journeys and doing other activities similar to the first dinosaur book. (Here's a great example of this point -- a frequent request my company's copyright division receives is to submit a few-page synopsis of a novel for copyright protection. We're careful to explain that while we could certainly send in those few pages of text for protection, our customers must understand that it's the actual text of the synopsis that would be protected, and not the book idea itself -- likely not what they had in mind!)

* Here's another example, this one from a court case by the name of Dunlap v. G&L Holding Group, Inc. (heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on August 27th, 2004). In this case, a gentleman came up with an idea for a bank that caters to gay and lesbian clientele. G&L Bank was formed and Dunlap became an employee. However, shortly after G&L's inception, Dunlap was fired and subsequently sued for theft of his idea. However, the suit was dismissed -- an "idea" cannot be protected, so someone who "steals" that idea has not broken any copyright laws.

Has the work been registered with the US Copyright Office?

With more recent works, the best place to start is the USCO's Copyright Records Search. Simply search the online database for the work you're looking for.

Of course, it isn't that simple. If the work isn't found there, that doesn't mean you've eliminated the possibility that the work is registered. It just means you have to dig a little harder. You may need to enlist the USCO's help in locating the registration. This process has its costs ($115 for even an estimate of the cost!) -- but guess what's even costlier? Being sued for copyright infringement.

In what year was the work registered for copyright protection?

In some cases, you might know that the work was copyrighted at one point but be unsure whether that registration is still valid and effective. There are many factors involved (the year of registration, whether or not the copyright symbol needed to be affixed to works registered in that particular year, and so on), but there are a few general rules:

*If the work was published before 1923, the copyright has expired. It is now in the public domain and free to use.

*If a work was published between 1923 and 1963 and the copyright registration was not renewed, the work is free to use.

* The registration of a work created after January 1, 1978, will remain effective until 70 years after the author's death (or the death of the last author, if there were more than one authors). If the work was anonymous, registration remains effective for 120 years from the registration date.

* If the work was published before 1978, and the copyright symbol and notice were not included in the work, it's in the public domain (and always has been).

* If the work was published between 1978 and March 1, 1989, it's a little trickier -- if the copyright notice was not included in the work at the time of publication, the author had five years to do so. If they did not, the work is in the public domain.

Sarah Kolb, http://www.clickandcopyright.com

Since 2000, Click Industries, Ltd. has been helping thousands of small business owners, independent entrepreneurs, writers, and musicians start new business ventures, protect their intellectual property, and find new ways to market and promote their businesses and creative works. The management team of Click Industries brings a wealth of experience from the fields of government, law, IT development, and book publishing.

Copyright: The Basics by Sarah Kolb

2011-02-28T09:07:00.001-08:00

When you create a new work, you own the copyright to that work. It happens automatically; you don't have to do anything other than create an original work. Of course, this abstract idea looks great on paper, but the obvious problem is that who created a work is essentially one person's claim against another.

Why should I copyright my work?

The fact that you've created a work doesn't necessarily mean that you're able to prove you've created the work -- and if you're not able to prove in a court of law that you created something, you're not going to be able to sue someone for using it without your permission.

This is where registering a copyright comes in. It's the only way to legally prove your authorship. You may have heard of the "poor man's copyright" -- the act of mailing a copy of the work to yourself, keeping the package unopened and the postmark intact -- but as there is no language to support this, it simply is not a legal defense. Better to copyright your work, allowing no room for argument.

What types of works are eligible for copyright protection?

Any work of original authorship (meaning that it is not an exact copy of another work) that has been fixed in a tangible medium (either physically or digitally; in other words, it is a thing and not just an idea) can be copyrighted. Examples include:

Photographs
Paintings
Compositions
Poetry
Books
Sound Recordings
Audio/Visual Recordings
Software
Computer programs

Not all types of works can be protected by a copyright. Examples of works not eligible for this type of protection include:

Blank forms (graph paper, scorecards, address books, etc.)
Public knowledge (height and weight charts, tape measures, anything taken from common sources)
Ideas
Names
Titles
Short Phrases
Logos (unless there is enough original authorship to warrant protection as two-dimensional artwork; simply setting a name or title in a specific font or giving the letters some sort of artistic treatment does not contain enough original authorship to qualify)

However, you may be able to protect types of intellectual property not eligible for copyright protection in another way, such as with a trademark or a patent. It's best to discuss this with your legal advisor, if you're uncertain which type of protection is best for your work.

Can I Protect My Unpublished Work With A Copyright?

Absolutely. Publication was once a requirement, but the current Copyright Act no longer requires that a work be published to receive protection.

Incidentally, recent versions of the Copyright Act have removed one other previous requirement: that the copyright notice and symbol be present on the work. While a good idea to deter would-be copyright infringers, the copyright notice is no longer required to be placed on the work, even if that work is published. Ignorance of a work's copyright protection is not a legal excuse to violate that protection.

Sarah Kolb, http://www.clickandcopyright.com.

Since 2000, Click Industries, Ltd. has helped thousands of small business owners, independent entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, and writers start new businesses, protect their intellectual property and find new ways to market and promote their business and creative works. Our copyrighting division, Click and Copyright, offers copyright filing services for creative professionals.

Licensing and Transference of Copyright

2011-02-28T09:06:00.001-08:00

By Malika Bajpai

A Copyright acquired by an individual or a party may be transferred to another party. To accomplish this some conditions must be carried out among the parties. This is a common practice in the music industry. The creator of a music or song forms an agreement with the music company in which the company acquires all the rights to copy, distribute and publicize the items in the market. The original creator is provided with royalties in return. Due to the advent of the internet much of the copying and distribution is done through the internet but the company also pays heed to the marketing factor. The company looks after the marketing the creator (singer or musician) among the masses.

It depends on the copyright holder whether he/she wants to transfer all the vested rights to other. The owner of the right may transfer few of the rights to some party. When the transfer is done the original owner have to sign in legal documents. For exclusive license this is particularly useful where both the parties agree on the conditions and give their sign. The rights that are handed over to the party are mentioned exclusively leaving behind other rights. Legal documents involving such transfers of right should be with the concerned Copyright office. In US this is the rule.

Licensing of the Copyright is also performed in some countries. The benefit that adheres to the license considerably helps individual to acquire the copyrighted work without the consent of the owner. For this the concerned, issues a notice to the authority and pays some amount of money as fixed by the authority. If someone violates the law related to licensing it may lead to infringement. Various bodies have been formed to look that the policies and procedures are carried out properly. Thus doing this ensures that the creators are returned with adequate fees fixed for them.

To learn more about bankruptcy related issues please log on to the given website http://www.lawandlegalcare.com Law and Legal Care is a law portal having eminent team of attorneys across US, and offers quality service to its clients.

WikiLeaks and US Government, Serial Violators of Copyright

2011-02-21T12:27:00.001-08:00

by Vel Nirtist -

Since WikiLeaks and the American government are locked in a bitter and acrimonious struggle, a claim that the two share a common underlying mentality may appear bizarre.

And yet, such is indeed the case: what unites US government and the WikiLeaks is their attitude to copyright -- or, more precisely, their respective answer to the question "do the tools of exercising the copyright belong with the copyright itself, or can they be used separately?"

WikiLeaks clearly thinks that the latter is the case -- and uses a tool of copyright, the internet, even though it has no copyright to the material itself. In WikiLeaks mind, the copyright and the exercise of its tools do not belong together; one party can have the copyright to the material, yet a different party can wield the tools to publish this material.

Which is precisely the position of the US government.

Consider this scenario. You wrote a book, and therefore have the copyright to it -- the right to publish. Unwilling to go to a publisher because he will pocket two thirds of the profit, or because you have no connections, you decide to exercise your copyright and to publish your book yourself. How do you make the book trade -- the libraries and bookstores -- aware of your newly forthcoming book? For that, you need the government's help -- you need to add it to the Library of Congress' catalog that provides subject keywords by which your book can be found by the interested parties. This is the key tool of exercising your copyright, since it makes your book visible in the marketplace.

Yet, if you publish your book yourself, the government denies you the use of this catalog, this essential tool of the copyright -- even though you actually own the copyright itself. Only the bigger third-party publishers -- the middlemen -- are permitted its use, not the actual owners of copyright -- the authors. Clearly, the government believes that the copyright and its tools do not belong together -- and thus, it fully shares the WikiLeaks position and philosophy.

Taking the tools of the copyright away from the owners of the copyright locks the latter out of the mainstream marketplace of ideas, to the detriment of us all. If all could speak, rather than merely those with the connections, perhaps many problems that surfaced in government cables leaked by the WikiLeaks would have been solved through the free and public debate. But the government doesn't want an open debate, and denies the key to the marketplace of ideas -- the tools of copyright -- to wider public. WikiLeaks, equally cavalier about the copyright, and sharing with the government the premise that tools of copyright do not belong with the copyright itself, now gave the government a taste of its own medicine -- and published what the government -- the copyright owner -- does not want published.

So, evisceration of copyright turned out to be a double-edged sword. The very same principle of separating tools of the copyright from the copyright itself produced two very different outcomes: in one case, the authors who want their work present in the mainstream marketplace of ideas cannot place their books into it; yet in the other, the authors who would rather escape the limelight, now find themselves engulfed in it.

Solution? Let the copyright be copyright, so the tools of publishing (or of exercise of the copyright, which is the same) belong together. Hopefully, the court case to which I am a party -- Overview Books v. US -- will restore the normal meaning of the copyright as the author's right to publish without a middleman -- and his or her ability to utilize all requisite tools, including the government-maintained catalog.

While the government should be able to keep its secrets, the public should also be able to do what it needs to do to function properly -- to freely discuss whatever the members of the public want to discuss. Both needs will be served by restoring to the copyright its normal function -- that of allowing authors the right to present their works to the mainstream marketplace of ideas -- or to withhold it from the public scrutiny if they wish to do so.

Vel Nirtist writes on the role of religion in fostering terrorism. He is author of “The Pitfall of Truth: Holy War, its Rationale and Folly.” His blog is at http://www.rootoutterrorism.com

From Music To Books: Piracy Threatens Professional Publishers

2011-02-21T12:26:00.001-08:00

While piracy in the music industry is well documented and widespread, little attention has been given to its latest victim, professional books. The latest article in Simba Information's bi-monthly newsletter Professional Content Report, "Professional Book Piracy Thriving in Cyberspace," finds challenges in combating piracy and quantifying the potential revenue loss.

Currently moving onto an online platform, professional book publications, which generate $13.91 billion in revenue annually, are confronting mounting losses from digital piracy, the article finds. Several websites that publish textbooks and eBooks for free are profiting through subscriptions and advertising while maintaining immunity from copyright infringement, making these profiteers very difficult opponents.

"If piracy is next to impossible to fight, the question is how publishers should react to this situation," notes Dan Strempel, senior editor of Professional Content Report. "Do they treat piracy as part of the cost of doing business in the Internet age, or do they try and recoup piracy losses from paying customers by raising prices? It would be extremely challenging for publishers to do the latter, considering the economic pressures in the scholarly/professional system."

Quantifying the loss associated with this piracy remains a challenge. Findings suggest as much as $1.7 million in potential revenue is lost per title in the technical segment and about $1 million per title in the science segment. According to the article, progress is being made through trade associations and cooperation between publishers; however, there remains a greater need of public awareness, government resources and collective effort to effectively combat book piracy.

"Until someone puts the 'force' in international copyright enforcement, they might just have to learn to deal with it," notes Strempel.

Selling A Website - Watch Out For Copyright Problems

2011-02-07T08:10:00.001-08:00

By Richard Chapo

You've built a website and turned it into a successful business. Now you want to sell it. Before you start coming up with a price, it is vital that you think through the process and make sure you have your ducks in order well before a buyer comes along.

Selling a business is always much more of a task than the party selling imagines. There are a host of issues that have to be addressed, issues that can be tough to get through. Although an internet site has no physical presence unless you want to count the servers, there are a host of issues that arise when trying to sell it as well. Let's look at an example to see how copyright can be an issue.

You have a site selling blood pressure monitors to consumers. Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States, so it is a ripe market. The site does really well and one of the big health industry sites notices as much. Discussions on a sale begin and you are suddenly looking at making a serious amount of money. A final price is agreed upon and then due diligence is undertaken by the buyer. Suddenly, you are in trouble.

The initial question the buyer will have is do you own the copyright to the site design. Well, do you? If you designed the site yourself, then you do. Most people don't do this. Instead, they hire a designer to do the work. Since the designer is usually an independent contractor, he or she will actually own the copyright to the design under established law.

The only way you could have circumvented this was to have them sign a copyright transfer contract or include appropriate language in the initial design agreement to this effect. If you didn't, you are going to need to approach them and hope they will assign it without too much financial pain on your part.

There are other problems that can arise with copyright for sites that are sufficient to sink any site sale. For instance, what if you had them sign a contract, but can't find it? What if they gave you a license to use the design, but it can't be transferred? What if part of the design was used from another site they already had rights to? The questions can be endless and the buyer is going to want an answer to all of them.

The time to deal with copyright problems is not during the due diligence process. The time to deal with them is well before you think of selling. In fact, every site should go through a website audit once a year to make sure issues related to copyright, trademark, regulatory compliance and the like are all being taken care of and are up to date.

Richard A. Chapo provides website audit services and provides legal services to clients in California at SanDiegoBusinessLawFirm.com.

Plagiarism - Your Rights Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

2011-02-07T08:09:00.003-08:00

By Russell J Barnstein

Plagiarism is an unbridled problem on the internet and the only specific protections for content owners are under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Passed by the Clinton administration in 1998, this copyright law seeks to protect writers, web developers and content owners from illegal infringement and plagiarism by extending the reach of copyright law, thereby offering recourses in order to prevent, stop, and report plagiarism.

Plagiarism is all too easy on the web, but the Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it all too easy to have plagiarized work taken down. Under the DMCA, internet service providers are protected from liability for acts of plagiarism by their users. However, websites are exempt from this protection, and if you request to have plagiarized work taken down, website owners and administrators must immediately comply in order to avoid liability under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Plagiarism and its Definitions: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Plagiarism and copyright infringement was more clearly defined by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to include cases where individuals circumvent measures put in place to prevent unauthorized access to materials or to prevent plagiarism. Criminals that do this are subject to being tried, fined and incarcerated under the DMCA.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act also seeks to prevent plagiarism by preventing others from linking to plagiarized work. While this legislation is currently in place, there have been no court cases involving a person being tried for linking to plagiarized work, unless that person was previously admonished for or found guilty of plagiarism.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act relies on the self-education of users to take action in specific steps, the easiest of which is to simply notify the webmaster of an offending site and request a take-down of plagiarized work. This almost always achieves results, but if it does not, plagiarism can be pursued by contacting the Better Business Bureau, the State's Attorney General Office, by reporting plagiarism to the major search engines, and by seeking litigation.

Unless you take steps to prevent, detect and report plagiarism, thieves will have no incentive to discontinue stealing your valuable content. And if you think plagiarism isn't happening to you, think again by visiting this link to learn more about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and report plagiarism now.

Need to know more about how to prevent, detect and report plagiarism.

Tired of chasing those who plagiarize your work? Improve your leverage and help us put pressure on the search engines by joining our free site to report plagiarism.

Copyright - The Importance of It by Sharon Slater

2011-01-24T06:48:00.000-08:00

Why the importance?

In the World today, we have those who give and those who take and not forgetting the variables in between. We have Extreme thieves who steal, we also have the petty criminals who rob and again the variables in between. We have original brand labels, and very convincing copyright labels and again those variables in between. The list goes on and on and...

Unfortunately as most of us know the same goes on with written information online. However the sheer volume and spectrum of that activity is mind blowing and quite often overlooked. Never underestimate the volume of content theft.

This is what happens.

Take your new website for example. The website creation and what you write may be formatted and presented and created in your own original way. It is personal to you and comes from the heart and in your opinion it belongs to you as it is your creative work whether that comes naturally or you have to work at it, it is still your work. You may create links of course to various locations online (referrals) you may even quote articles, and occasionally copy and paste an article or part of to illustrate something but you will and should always include the original source, author.

You should of course never make that work look your own.

Using an extreme case I know, but your work is as important to you as say JK Rowling's work is to her.

Bills little light shop business is as important to him as Lord Allan Sugars Business is as important to him, and Alice who has worked hard for everything she owns and sits in her flat is as important to her to say Lady Champ who has worked hard for her car collection and estate she owns.

Moving on....

I will now give you an example of what could happen to you and will use Alice and yourself to see similarities.

Someone steals a little bit of your work. They have may not take everything and may not be in the same Industry and not in direct competition with you in any way, shape or form nor are they claiming to be you or using your name under their work, but the fact is they have still stolen something from you.

In comparison...

Alice gets broken into and comes home and finds her microwave missing. She looks around the flat and sees that nothing else is missing. She is annoyed and feels violated. She worked hard for that microwave but realizes she is lucky because nothing else was taken. She is annoyed with herself because she knew she should have shut her kitchen window properly but she did not imagine someone would break into her flat. She later found out it was some petty thief. She is annoyed but she gets things into perspective and makes sure she never leaves the window open again and she also goes and buys an intruder alarm and a few more locks. She places what she considers her valuable items and hides them away.(she understands this may not prevent it from happening again but she has made it harder for them) She then continues with her life. Lesson learnt move on and don't dwell on the past just put it down to experience.

Going back to your stolen site content. Most of us fully understand that as soon as you submit something to the Internet it becomes available for millions to use and abuse for whatever reason, but most of us also know that there are ways and methods of protecting it and claiming it as your content but many have the attitude of do that tomorrow, combined with is it needed yet. Of course tomorrow does not come and it is only when this happens do you do something about it such as copyright and Extra security etc. (shutting the stable door spring to mind?) of course that does not mean to say it will not happen again but at least you have taken some action.

The fact is there are a lot of people without a creative bone in their body but we must appreciate this is the real world and many don't.

Intentional theft is worse than non intentional theft. probably wrong in quoting this but I think its called (malice aforethought?), we must be aware that many do not understand they are actually stealing your content.

Anyway like I said, this is a topic of conversation is highly debatable. I read somewhere someone who is very successful in what she does say this. If someone steals your work online do not get too personal, remain professional. If it has a direct impact on your work then pursue it, it is not as hard as what people think. However if it has no impact on your work then move on and take it as a compliment.

I would agree with that. I also read that whatever work you do online it is not a matter of if you experience this but it is a matter of when you experience this.

Take measures now to try and prevent this from happening to you.

Get your online worked copyright protected. Now!

Of course this above illustration is just one of millions and millions of situations!

You can only imagine what really goes on! In fact I really don't want to think about it.

Sharon Slater
http://www.dimnity.com

Printed Material Is Protected From Photocopying by Copyright But There Are Exemptions

2011-01-24T06:47:00.001-08:00

By Ali Withers

Copyright law is complex and since the most recent UK legislation in 1988 has been regularly amended basically any material in print and on the internet is protected from being copied or reproduced and the writer has Intellectual Property Rights to protect them.

This protection also applies to music scores and visual images and the point is to protect the originator of the work, who earns their living from what they produce.

This might cause problems for both students and teachers in schools, colleges and universities, where budgets are limited and providing reference books for each student would be very expensive.

Many educators rely on photocopied materials as part of the materials they need to give students for lessons and in further education students, too, rely on references for written coursework. No college library is likely to have more than a few copies of any reference book, which can be a problem if there are many students needing to refer to them.

There is a system of licensing for educational establishments to allow photocopies to be made covering both printed material and scans and copies of online material. The examples that follow are extracts only and users should check the complete licence for what is permitted and what is not.

The licensing system is run by the Copyright Licensing Agency and is called the CLA Schools Licence, which allows photocopying from printed books, journals, and magazines as well as making digital copies from online material or photocopying and scanning printouts of digital material.

Among the issues covered by the Licence are defined limits to the amount of material that can be copied and printed out which are:

1. One complete chapter from a book
2. One article from a journal or magazine
3. One short story or poem not more than 10 pages in length
4. The entire report of a single legal case
5. Or 5% of the publication if greater than above

The licence does not include printed music, including the words, newspapers, workbooks and some correspondence courses as well as any publications that include a notice that they are prohibited from being copied under a CLA licence.

There are limits also on how many copies can be made and for whom. They should only be enough for the teacher and the numbers of pupils in the class if being used for teaching. They should only be available to students, teachers, parents and governors.

Most university libraries have a notice of the rules and regulations regarding photocopyingand copyright alongside their photocopiers to help users to know what they can and cannot do.

Regarding quoting from other people's material, the 1988 Copyright Act contains a clause, called Fair Dealing, that states that copyright is not infringed if material being quoted or used is for research or private study, criticism or review or for reporting current events.

Copyright (c) 2011 Alison Withers

This article looks at the issues of copyright law and copying materials for educational purposes. Ali Withers writes on behalf of Firstcopy, Cambridge, suppliers of printers and copiers throughout East Anglia.

Online Copyright Rule Crackdown For Online Writers - Expect It by Lance Winslow

2011-01-17T08:03:00.000-08:00

Online Article Writers should be paying attention to the new Internet Copyright Rules we are all expecting in the future to head-off any potential future issues in that regard. You see, it seems that the "fair use" copyright rules, have been stretched over the years online especially with 'news aggregators' and online videos, and yes, those who engage in re-writing news articles too. So, I for one expect more scrutiny in this, and expect online article directory sites to heed the warnings and writing on the wall.

Congress has been taking notes, so too has the FTC, their news media lobbyists have been fighting for changes and a crackdown on internet content pilferage. Whereas, most online article writers are honest and do not engage in plagiarism, or content theft, we all know there are those who have, and perhaps as an online article writer you've even had some of your content stolen, and it irks you to no end. It is completely frustrating indeed, you know you cannot track these people down.

This is what the news outlets are going through, and many of them are barely hanging on financially, this is a huge crisis, and not just in the US, many of the content thieves come from other nations, who do not have such rules or if they do, they certainly aren't ever enforced, and yet, the Internet is World Wide now.

How much stress will this put on online article directory sites?

Well, not much on the good ones with strong editorial guidelines, for those in my estimation, for the most part safe in this issue, due to their focus, expert authors, and editorial posting rules. Still, this future challenge should be in the back of their minds because this will be a real future issue. Also, I'd say in the end such new copyright rules could become a plus for us authors who occasionally find their material and articles ripped off and posted on other websites, some of which use scraper strategies to lift content from other websites.

If you are a high-profile online article writer, these changes will affect you. If you've been copying content, you are liable to be banned from the sites you post on, and some of the less-than-quality sites may just disappear overnight if they have too much plagiarized content, don't be surprised when and if these things happen.

Best advice is to only post content on quality article directory sites. Please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes it's hard to write 20,000 articles; http://www.bloggingcontent.net/

Note: All of Lance Winslow's articles are written by him, not by Automated Software, any Computer Program, or Artificially Intelligent Software. None of his articles are outsourced, PLR Content or written by ghost writers.

How Can I Transfer A Copyright? by Greg L Stevens

2011-01-17T08:01:00.001-08:00

For those who are unsure about if it is a possibility to change the name on a U.S. copyright, the answer's yes, and copyright laws are put together so that it really is rather hassle-free to achieve. Indeed, a lot of people convert their own copyrights to get used by a few other persons and businesses. This will give you to be paid royalty payments or chief percentage for any of the chance to use your output.

How can you exchange your national copyright?

According to U.S. copyright laws, to pass on the control of a copyright, you have got to describe the switch on paper. An effective way of doing this is with the assistance of a national copyright law firm. Your lawyer can discuss with you what's important about the characteristics of the transaction, and help to set up the paperwork. The written file needs to have a signature of the transfer or, whomever originally held the copyright. There's no general official document for this operation, but it needs to involve:

- An in-depth explanation of the copyright-protected asset that is getting shifted;
- The names of the people or agencies that are included in the contract; and
- The stipulations and legal rights that are set up about the shift of the copyright.

The copyright owner ought to then present the papers to the US Copyright Office. Even though this entry is not called for legally, it should retain a file of the dealing, and works to shield the legal rights of the groups associated. In the event you need assistance completing this task, you should find the experienced assistance of a national copyright lawyer.

How about licensing a copyright?

The relocation of a copyright doesn't necessarily indicate the long-term exchange of privileges. In reality, the length of time of the deal, along with other particulars, depend upon the characteristics of your agreement. You could transfer the rights for any time frame, and under any set occasions.

A proven way of giving limited rights to a copyright is by way of a licensing arrangement. This will determine the conditions, the time-span, and the frequency of payment for a copyright. The only authentic conditions are those which were decided amongst the licensor and licensee. These can involve the rights to factors such as image reproduction, circulation and spin off features. Licensing deals assist you to sustain charge and possession of your copyright, while licensee can apply your property inside the stipulations of the arrangement.

If you need assistance with your copyright transfer, consult an experienced California copyright lawyer. A knowledge LA copyright attorney is familiar with the laws related to intellectual property and can assist you with all the necessary paperwork, advise you on your contract, and see that both parties are satisfied with the results.

What Can I Do About Copyright Infringement?

2011-01-10T10:10:00.001-08:00

By Greg L Stevens

If you register a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office, you're protecting your legal rights to the utilization of the copyrighted content. It indicates that any use of your copyrighted content has to have your authorization or it's regarded as a breach of copyright laws. Intellectual property law is usually challenging, and the aid of a copyright lawyer is highly recommended.

What, precisely, is viewed as copyright infringement? Whenever you obtain the copyright for any content, you're issued the legal permission: create more copies using the work; put together derivative works relating to the original concept or content; release copies of the work to the public whether by selling, rental, lease or lending; perform your creative efforts in a theater or festival; exhibit the protected content in a public place; and transmit the material to the public by using a radio station, TV, movies or the net.

Whenever another person carries out any of these practices using your copyrighted work while not having your express permission, they are taking part in a breach of copyright law. United States Copyright Law states that "anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner is an infringer of the copyright or right of the author." Even while there are some exceptions to infringement accountability, copyright law protects you from the vast majority of instances of copyright infringement. When you're struggling with questions pertaining to your rights and security through the laws, you should review your case with your patent/trademark/copyright attorney.

How does someone deal with a potential copyright infringement claim? If you ever are convinced your legal rights were infringed upon, make sure you obtain the recommendations of a copyright attorney at once. The United States Copyright Office is not counted upon to impose regulations, neither does it warn copyright keepers of potential copyright violation. You must discover the examples of this on your own and afterward pursue the case in federal court.

There are particular policies around the time schedule in which your copyright was granted. In some instances, if a copyright registration has not yet been submitted, you might still have the option to do this and then carry out the legal process. According to when exactly an intellectual property owner files their copyright submission, they could be eligible for statutory damages and attorney expenses.

For assistance with your potential infringement claim, consult a knowledgeable Arlington infringement lawyer. An experienced Virginia copyright attorney can investigate the claim, advise you accordingly, and fight for your rights in court.

Artist Copyright Rights by Darrel Tank

2011-01-10T10:09:00.001-08:00

The use of other's printed and copyrighted photos or art is a huge problem. It may be tempting to use something from a magazine or advertisement that inspires you, and you're allowed, if it is just for your own viewing and practice. It is, however, illegal to sell, print, use for display in any kind of public showing, or give the impression that it is your art in any way, without express written permission from the original creator of that source.

This doesn't mean that you can't use the idea as inspiration for shooting your own reference photograph-when you do shoot your own reference, it is automatically protected from other's using it as well.

Beyond creating your own reference material, it has been getting easier to find royalty free material to use on the Internet. Additionally, other artwork and photography that the copyright has expired on and that are now considered a part of the public domain can be found through the Library of Congress.

However, as an artist, I recommend that you make the effort to have all of your artwork and material officially copyrighted through the Library of Congress-this gives you additional protection and the rights to claim damages, claim profits made through the use and infringement of your artwork, as well as any court costs incurred in pursuing your case.

I encourage everyone to make sure they have gotten the necessary permission or made sure it is their own reference before doing something for any kind of display. This is a good habit to get into, because a drawing that you thought was just for practice, or for our own use, may turn out to be something that you are particularly proud of and would like to publicly use, publish, or even sell.

As an artist, I see that many people around the world have used my artwork without permission, taken my name off of it and/or the copyright notice-then claimed they had no idea who did the work, or they claim that it was in the public domain. It's frustrating for the artist, to say the least.

Looking at catalogs, books, magazines and other's artwork can be great for inspiration and a terrific source for ideas. There are a set number of changes that you can make to consider it your own artwork, but this is both subjective and tricky-therefore I feel more comfortable creating my own reference. That way, every single facet of my art is my creation and I do not have any worries. It's always better to be safe that sorry!

Darrel Tank has helped thousands of students learn to draw realistically with his unique 5-Pencil Method.

Get your 3 hours of free drawing tutorials at http://www.fivepencilmethod.com/free-drawing-tutorials/.

Copyright and Using Images on Your Website and Blog Posts

2011-01-10T10:08:00.001-08:00

By Sharon Sayler

A visual can sure add a lot of impact to a website or your blog. It can give an immediate "ah-ha" to the reader and attract attention to your articles. Adding an image or creative work to your web page or post can make a big difference on the impact of your message. Images do grab readers' attention, but be careful, you can't use just any image... Using a copyrighted image without permission from the creator of the work or the copyright holder is copyright infringement. This article is a short introduction to copyright and creative images. Please check with an intellectual property attorney for more specifics and to answer your specific questions about copyrights and creative works.

You can't just use any image you find and like in blog posts, on your web site or in printed material. The law automatically grants full "copyright" over any creative work a person makes. This includes any creative work such as drawings, photos and text. Copyrights are applied to all intellectual property such as books, websites, blogs, photographs, audio and video recordings, e.g. songs, music and YouTube videos too. When choosing a creative work to use, make sure that it has a creative common license, a full-usage, licensed or granted usage, or is royalty-free. All have limitations and, except for full-usage, rarely grant complete usage rights. Ask for a copy of the usage license rights and restrictions before purchasing or using an image. Many places like Fotosearch.com and PhotoDisc.com have the licenses they use posted on their sites.

Images marked as "All Rights Reserved" are copyrighted and require permission from their creator. Images marked as "Some Rights Reserved" have a creative commons license applied. There are several types of creative commons licenses. Each license imposes different restrictions on how you use the images. There are four main types of creative common licenses, "Attribution," "Share Alike," "Noncommercial," "No Derivative Works." Each of the four categories has a variety of license types for different usages, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ to learn more.

Creative Commons is an organization that provides free content licenses that the person developing the creative piece can apply to their work. ( http://creativecommons.org/license/ ) The artists that choose to use this license are giving people permission to use the licensed piece without having to ask permission, provided they use it in the manner stated in the Creative Common License. Read each Creative Common License carefully as they do vary.

When using an image with a creative commons license, it is important to note the attribution with the image; e.g., Photo by John Smith licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic. Check with the creator of the image or the website that you get the image from, e.g. Flickr, for guidelines. This will ensure you are compliant with copyright requirements and give credit where credit is due.

This article is not meant to be legal advice and you are encouraged to further educate yourself about copyright and the implications to your site. Copyright laws vary internationally.

Sharon Sayler shows people simple, powerful, easy to learn ways they can gain the nonverbal advantage in important situations such as court appearances, job interviews, negotiations... anywhere where the outcome is critical. Signup to get your Communications Success Package including: -- Her popular Tips, Scripts and Must Do's To Create Instant Rapport with Just About Anyone -- A free chapter from What Your Body Says (and how to master the message) -- A special report on How to Avoid the 3 Biggest Body Language Mistakes - in under 10 Minutes! Plus weekly bonus how-to videos and tips to immediately increase your impact and influence.Run over to http://www.WhatYourBodySays.com to get yours now.

How To Get Protection Against Copyright Violation by Stewart Wrighter

2010-12-27T05:32:00.000-08:00

To those who have been a victim of copyright theft, they are fully aware of the importance of copyright protection, security certification and security training. Apart from that you must be prepared to deal with the situation when someone tries to steal your content.

You must have noticed the mention of when rather than if. That was actually intentional. With the excess of information available on Internet, it is just a matter of "when" instead of "if".

The initial step in knowing about what to do when somebody takes your content is to keep in mind that it is bound to happen. Thus the more geared up and well-informed you remain, the better are your probability of prevention. This will help you keep a plan in place when any such thing happens.

As the amount of WebPages and blogs rise, the demand for newer content keeps on putting more pressure on website administrators. Tired of the situation, the only option is to steal others content. This is because their aim is to attract traffic which is not possible without website hijacking. It is the obvious use of part or at times your entire website content without permission. It is also a kind of copyright violation that must be dealt with.

Copyright rules were intended to defend those who deserved to be honored. Just imagine what will happen when you stop paying your lawyers, doctors or electricians, etc. technically they must be paid for their services. In case, you do not, the collectors will be after you. Likewise, when your web content is stolen there is something that you need to do fast. The first thin to do is confront content theft.

In case your wallet, or purse gets stolen, or you have a robbery at home, you can call the police and insurance company so that your valuables can be recovered. But when your content gets stolen, the big question is where to look for help?

Sadly, until some agency is organized to protect your inventive rights, the majority of the combat needs to be done by you. There is no need to get overwhelmed by this thought. The idea is to make the procedure of retrieving your stolen content easy to understand and implement.

After that you need to clear your myth popular about copyrights and their violation.

• Chasing somebody accused of copyright violation is not that time-consuming or expensive.

• You do not need to hire a lawyer.

• You do not need anything apart from some easy actions.

• The defense of copyright rules must NOT be given solely to companies having money.

• The Protection and safeguard of copyrights is not that complicated.

Believe it or not, these are all myths. Only because information on internet is free does not really give you the right to steal it. Everything from designs, images to graphics is all protected by copyright laws. Being an intellectual property, no one has the right to steal them under any circumstances.

Not tracking down or stopping a property from getting stolen is no easy task. You have to go deep into the matter to find out who the culprit is.

Stewart Wrighter recently studied new security certification sites online while conducting research for an article. He was impressed with the new security training sites he found online.

How Do I Copyright Music? The Simple Steps to Protect Your Work by Justine Shoolman

2010-12-20T05:38:00.001-08:00

Copyright law falls under the umbrella of Intellectual Property which also includes Patents, Trademarks, Industrial Design and Trade Secrets. Each one of these sectors deals with a different type of protection for various types of works.

When dealing with musical works, it's important to understand what constitutes a musical work before we can determine how it is protected through copyright law. The Canadian Copyright Act (for example) defines musical works as: "any work of music or musical composition, with or without words, and includes any compilation thereof."

Interestingly, not all "musical" works actually fall under this category with regards to registration. Some may fall under the categories of "Sound Recordings" or "Performers' Performances".

In order to establish which category your musical work should be registered in, you must determine exactly what you are trying to protect. Some examples of what may be protected include:

a) lyrics: protected as a literary work
b) musical composition in any format: protected as a musical work
c) a specific recording of a song: protected as a sound recording
d) if you are a singer, your specific recorded performance of a song: protected as a performer's performance

Now that you have determined which category your music falls into, let's look at how to protect the copyright.

A common misconception is that people need to pay a third party to copyright their music.
However - the exclusive right of copyright (including the rights to produce, reproduce, distribute and publish the work) is automatically granted under Copyright Law to the author of a work once it is put in a fixed form.

In other words, when you record an original musical composition that you created onto a CD, it is copyrighted and you own the rights. However, unless you can prove you are the original creator of the musical work, you may run into expensive and time-consuming legal problems defending your work in the event of infringement.

This is why registering your work is often recommended, especially in our digital era where music is often showcased on websites and accessed by millions of people.

What registering a copyright does is it creates third party time-stamped proof of the time of creation. As such, should someone infringe on your work, you will have a registration certificate proving your work was completed before theirs. Without the registration, it can be tricky coming up with acceptable proof that you created the song first.

For instance, let's say I create a musical composition and play if for a friend who is also a musician. They then (not intentionally) create a new song, and accidentally steal my melody. They finish their song, register it with a copyright registration service, and get picked up by a label. Even though I was the first one to make the song, it might be very difficult for me to prove that I played them the song before they made their composition if I did not first register the work.

As such, to build proof of your ownership (and to maintain friendships), it's generally a good idea to register your music before showcasing it publicly.

Disclaimer

The above information is meant as a general guide to further your copyright knowledge about music and does not constitute legal advice. For questions about your specific musical work, you should consult a copyright lawyer in your country.

Justine Shoolman is a Founder of Copyright Creators (CC), a service inspired by the shortfalls of poor man's copyright. CC protects copyright for life with no membership fees. Visit CC today to receive 4 free registrations.

The Copyright Notice - 6 Reasons it Can Increase Protection of Your Work by Justine Shoolman

2010-12-20T05:37:00.001-08:00

To include the notice, or not to include the notice? A common point of confusion for copyright creators is whether they need to include the copyright notice with their work for copyright protection.

The good news for most creators is you do not need to include a copyright notice with your work to have copyright protection; and by 'protection' we mean the rights to produce, reproduce and perform your work.

In general, copyright protection is granted automatically upon the completion of your work in a fixed form. Having said this, there is some fine print one should be aware of, especially for works created in the United States.

Short History of the Copyright Notice:
Under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which concluded in 1886, copyright protection is automatically granted for original works expressed in a fixed form (for example, a format that can be perceived, communicated and reproduced such as on paper, memory key, compact disc, etc.). There are over 100 countries who are signatories of the Berne Convention, all of which are listed on the World Intellectual Property Office's website. In addition, countries that are a part of the World Trade Organization have to adhere to almost all of the conditions of the Berne Convention.

The beauty of the convention is it harmonizes and sets minimum standards of copyright laws between the member countries. This has greatly reduced the risk for copyright creators when publishing their works internationally, as they will receive similar protection abroad as they would in their own country.

When copyright protection is automatic, as it is for all Berne Convention countries, you are not required to use the copyright notice to protect your work.

Now, the tricky part is for U.S citizens. The United States only joined the Berne Convention on March 1st 1981, which means any works published before this date may still require the copyright notice to protect copyright, unlike works published after March 1st 1989.

Although the Copyright Notice is Not Required, here are 6 Reasons it Can Increase Protection of Copyright:

1. The copyright notice tells the public that the work is protected by copyright law. Without the notice, someone interested in using the work might mistakenly think it is available for use without permission.

2. It helps identify the copyright owner which is handy if anyone needs to contact them regarding the work.

3. It provides the year of publication which can be important in determining the duration of copyright.

4. A copyright notice makes it much harder for an infringer to claim that they did not know the work was copyrighted. If the notice is not present, an infringer could use this reasoning in court and potentially be acquitted of the charges.

5. The notice might act as a deterrent for someone to infringe on the work. If a person knows the work is protected, they might be less likely to use it.

6. It's easier for someone to make contact to obtain permission to use your work when a copyright notice is present.

As you can see, even though having the copyright notice is not required, it's definitely a good idea to help protect copyright.

Disclaimer
The above information is meant as a general guide to further your copyright knowledge and does not constitute legal advice. For questions about your specific work, you should consult a copyright lawyer in your country.

Justine Shoolman is a Founder of Copyright Creators (CC), a service inspired by the shortfalls of poor man's copyright. CC protects copyright for life with no membership fees. Visit CC today to receive 4 free registrations.

Learn How to Copyright Your Music by Brad Barnett

2010-12-06T06:50:00.003-08:00

To protect your music from being misused or plagiarized, you need to copyright your music. This is essential or you may find your music being ripped off. If the copyrighted material is plagiarized then you can take action and claim damages but unless the music is copyrighted, you may be left high and dry, wringing your hands in frustration. Copyrighting comes with a fee as most things do, however it gives you peace of mind regarding your creative effort.

What is Copyrighting?

When you write or compose something original and lay claims to it, it automatically becomes your own. Laying claims need to be made through a statutory body recognized by law. In this way you can be assured that your original creation will not be misused. Some people simply send a copy of the CD to themselves in their mail to prove the date and time. This is poor man's copyright and does not carry too much weight nor is it enough to claim a penalty. A copyright needs to be approved by the government to make it legal. The official process to copyright your music involves going through the government process of obtaining a copyright from the US Copyright Office. The process is simple and reliable.

Requirements for Copyrighting Your Music

A copy of the songs to be copyrighted A copyright form An envelope for mailing them $45

Tips Regarding the Official Copyright Form

1. If you are going to copyright your music, sound as well as music, then you need Form SR for Sound Recording to copyright both as copyrighting the sound alone will not take care of your composition. This is absolutely required if your band has recorded an album. 2. The Performing Arts copyright lets you copyright the song too. If you submit a recording to be copyrighted then only your song will be copyrighted and not the sound recording. If you are a songwriter and are not worried about the recording the Form PA should be good enough for you. 3. There is a CON or a Continuation Form along with the SR or PA form which can be used as continuation forms when you copyright your music.

Register your copyrighted music

Copyright your music by registering it. First fill in the appropriate forms SR, PA or CON. Write out a check for $45 and make it out to "Register of Copyrights". Make a good copy of the music that you need copyrighted. This copy will be retained and will not be returned to you. Next put everything (CD, forms and check) in an envelope and mail it to:

Library of Congress Copyright Office 101 Independence Avenue, SE Washington DC 20559-6000

Copyright your music and have peace of mind regarding your composition. This is absolutely necessary if you wish to prevent plagiarism. Copyright your music and make it legally yours. The process is simple does not cost the earth, when compared to the risks involved if you do not copyright your original creation. A lot of effort and time has gone in to creating your music so protect it by copyrighting it.

Brad Barnett knows what you need to do to successfully promote your band and music on and offline. He has been a part of the music scene for 10+ years playing, recording, and distributing his music. He offers you free tips and resources to promote your band.

How to Get Free Images For Articles - Copyright Worry Free by Pauline Go

2010-12-06T06:50:00.001-08:00

The technological advancement in computers has made working from home extremely convenient and lucrative. Many people these days are earning handsome pay packages by writing articles for various websites. The range of topics incorporated in these articles is immensely diverse. Any written matter when supplemented with illustrations not only looks more attractive, but also leaves a greater impact on the psyche of the reader.

There is a plethora of images online covering every subject under the sun. However, these are mostly protected under the copyright law and using such images could lead to legal complications. At the same time, there are many images online that can be utilized free of charge and without any fear of copyright issues. All that is required is adequate knowledge of acquiring such free images.

Firstly, it is vital for the user to search online for specifically 'free stock images'. Such images are not safeguarded by copyrights and can be downloaded for free. There are loads of royalty free images also obtainable online. For such images, the user needs to pay only once and these can be used subsequently without any further expense. There are images available in public domain and under creative common license as well. These also can be used without the hitch of plagiarism. Searching under all these avenues broadens the scope of accessibility of images as desired.

Secondly, one must understand that many of these websites with free stock images require registration. Once the user becomes a member of the website, he or she can avail free access to the images.

Thirdly, it might be helpful to have an alternative concept for images in mind, as it may not always be possible to come across the exact topic.

Fourthly, most users turn a blind eye to the text matter portrayed on these websites. In general, users are in a hurry to acquire the images and in the process give little consideration to the listed regulations. The terms and conditions should be not only read, but also comprehended and followed strictly in order to prevent any repercussions. Most commonly, the rules state certain restrictions on the type of use the images can be put to and also highlight the way the site or photographer needs to be given recognition. It is very significant not to overlook this aspect. Each time an image is downloaded, one must remember to take note of the name of the site and the photographer so that due acknowledgment can be given at an appropriate time and place.

About Author:
Pauline Go is an online leading expert in legal industry. She also offers top quality tips like:
Copyright Infringement Penalty, Public Domain Definition

What is Fair Use Law For Copyright Material? by Pauline Go

2010-12-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

Legally work protected under the law of copyright cannot be used by anyone without the approval of the owner. There are still those who resort to plagiarism and end up as culprits of copyright infringement. Many are not aware that any matter placed under copyright protection can also be used within the legal norms by the tool of 'fair use'.

This module of fair use has been elaborated in Section 107 of the Copyright Law of 1976. This section provides the regulations under which material placed under copyright can be used in a legal way. The primary aspect to be dealt upon while deciding about the correct utility of fair use is that one needs to evaluate the social or cultural benefit from the use in comparison to the damages endured by the copyright owner. Also, fair use should not be done for monetary gains. There should be an underlying larger cause benefiting the society as a whole. Fair use is immensely beneficial in the realms of education and journalism.

When it comes to fair use, you need to take into consideration four factors. These factors are how the work is going to be used, what is the type of work, what is the extent of the use and what economic repercussions the use will have. Usually these factors are taken into consideration in case there is a lawsuit on copyright infringement. For instance, a teacher in a classroom set up shows a video clipping highlighting the adverse effects of smoking. Thereafter, certain issues pertaining to tobacco smoking are taken up in the form of a class discussion. Not only are the ill effects on health discussed but also issues such as smoking in public places leading to passive smoking and air pollution are taken up. This entire lesson plan definitely falls under the correct legal utility of fair use. The reasons of fair use as per the 'four factors' can be justified. The nature of the use was to impart knowledge and create social awareness. The extent of use was adequate as only a single scenario was stressed upon in the video. The use was confined within the four walls of the classroom. Finally, the entire exercise resulted in no monetary obligations to the owner of the copyrights. In fact, it served a greater social cause.

It is not an easy task to comprehend the legalities attached to fair use as there are different regulations encompassing fair use in different walks of life. Therefore, advocates furnish guidelines to acquaint users with the regulations and prevent any inadvertent violation of copyright laws.

About Author:
Pauline Go is an online leading expert in legal industry. She also offers top quality tips like:
Copyright Infringement Penalty, Public Domain Definition

How Copyright Laws Fail Us When We Need Them Most by Marilyn Bontempo

2010-11-29T06:34:00.001-08:00

I used to worry about other people stealing my work. I do lots of different kinds of things so there is plenty to steal. In 35 years of being in business, I have produced plenty of exceptional photos, illustrations, graphic design, ads, websites, printed collateral material, logos, music and writing, to name just a few. And of course, I also have plenty of clients for all my competition to try to steal away from me as well. This is normal. If you are talented in any way, or in business of any kind, people steal from you.

What about copyright laws? Unless you want to waste lots of money hiring a lawyer to chase after every thief and take them to court only to get a judgement against them which they probably will never pay, what is the use? And that's if you're lucky. Most of the time in cases of Internet violation, you can never even locate the person responsible, let alone convict him of the crime. But it's not money I'm after. If I were, why in heaven's name would I be writing articles for Internet article directories who don't pay for use of their articles? I write for such sites to get the benefit of linkbacks for my website and blog. What are linkbacks? They are a vital component of SEO (search engine optimization), as links back to my website from highly ranked, popular websites, which contributes to my achieving page one search results for my own website when appropriate keywords are searched on Google. It's complicated but it works.

I recently was searching for some javascript code I could use to do something clever on my website. When I found what I wanted to adapt, I checked to see what the terms of use were. The writer of the code very humbly asked for a mere $5 if you wanted to remove his name from the invisible credits that would only appear where other code seekers would see it. Otherwise, it was free. How can you not respect a request like that? I happily left his name even though I needed to spend many hours tweaking the code to work in my situation but felt a certain kinship with this skilled individual that engendered the utmost in admiration and obedience. I treat others the way I wish to be treated myself.

It certainly was upsetting when I first realized that my articles were being used improperly and published as if written by someone on the website where I happened to find them. I checked the usage policies of the article websites to which I had submitted my articles which stated that it was required that articles be published with a signature line (meaning, author's name) along with a link to the author's website.

After reading that, I thought, "Oh, great! Maybe they will help me enforce their policies." But after further reading I quickly learned that it was my responsibility to do any policework, notifying offenders of what they so innocently had overlooked. Once such violations are brought to light, these well-meaning publishers will be eager to correct their ways. Ha! That's a laugh!

Not only do these offending websites have no way to contact anyone, they are enshrouded in secrecy by unknown hosts who ironically invite you to "report abuse," only to inform you that they cannot accept responsibility for any individual blog publisher's offenses. If you want to try posting a comment to communicate the violation, you usually need to register and log in, divulging all your own personal information, so your comment will ultimately get picked up by Google associated with a less-than-reputable website in some future search that will follow you to your grave. (Is this where we're headed, as members of this Google-dominated culture we live in?)

As I was searching the title of my article which is how I discovered the stolen usages, I saw something else which made me realize what a tangled web we weave on the Internet. One instance of my article used my title verbatim, but what followed in the body of the article was what appeared to be an error-ridden, broken-English, horrendous translation from some other language, which suggested that this article had gone full circle. I imagined someone publishing my English-language article in say, Chinese, for example, and someone translating it back into English to use it on the website where I found it. Let's just say I wasn't a bit unhappy about the lack of attribution in this situation!

But this is sad... a very sad state of affairs, wouldn't you agree? Or isn't it, rather, "Wake up and smell the coffee! This is reality, so get over it"? Hence, my resignation. As a person with wavering self-esteem to begin with, I accept having someone pirate my work to call his own in the same way I accept someone cutting me off in traffic, or cutting ahead of me in line at the grocery store. It's gotten to be so commonplace that what else can you do but just shrug your shoulders about it? Sure, you could make a scene but ironically in today's society, you would be running the risk of getting arrested for breach of peace and instigating a public disturbance. That would be a perfect example of today's justice. No thanks. I'd rather just look the other way and be glad that they're not hauling me off as the real criminal for publishing interesting articles that tempt others to steal them.

But... just a minute! Isn't that a website that has actually included my name as the author? And included a link to my picture and website as well? Well, now. Isn't that nice of someone, to be so kind! Funny how abiding by the rules we're all supposed to be following is the new supernatural, worthy of reverence usually reserved for the divine or the immortal.

Are we so jaded that merely obeying the law of the land has been elevated to an act of sainthood, and deserving of the grand prize awarded only to superhumans? I guess it follows then that telling the truth, showing respect, offering help and being fair are also beyond expectation for normal individuals, and anyone exhibiting such behavior should be honored with recognition as one of today's superheroes. Never mind that many religions teach "Thou shalt not steal"; in fact, raised as a Catholic, I was taught not to even "covet" my neighbor's goods, let alone go so far as to steal them. It was wrong to even "lust" after them, to use a term made famous (or would it be "infamous"?) by Jimmy Carter in a Playboy interview back in 1976. And certainly in civil law, everyone knows it is a punishable offense to take something that doesn't belong to you. But this is more than that. It is not only taking it, but gaining glory from it as well! And in some instances, it is even gaining revenue from it because of advertising that appears as a result of its saleability and magnetic appeal, drawing cybertraffic to fulfill promised ad viewership. That should fall under a more grievous category and worthy of an even bigger punishment.

And if I were inclined to contact a copyright lawyer, I would be advised of my many rights in such a case. I would also be informed that I would be responsible for payment to the lawyer to represent me whether he was successful in apprehending the guilty party or not. Another case of divine justice gone bad. My rights are violated and I pay as a result. No pain, no gain, right? The pain being my shock and awe at having been so flagrantly ripped off; my outrage at having someone else impersonate me as the author; and my disgust at needing to pay a lawyer to defend my rights. The gain? Obviously all in the thief's court, so to speak.

Marilyn Bontempo, president of Mid-Hudson Marketing since 1975, has extensive experience guiding business leaders, directors, and professionals with successful strategies for business growth and sustenance. Long-term relationships have been established with law firms, medical practices, pharmaceutical companies, real estate executives, and a variety of other trade, corporate and industrial specialists. Her professional writing, photographic, design and aesthetic specialties provide clients with proven methods of achieving successful branding and public image. Mid-Hudson Marketing is a top New York advertising, marketing, website and graphic design firm located in Dutchess County's Poughkeepsie area specializing for more than 35 years in the creation and management of high quality branding for business success. With numerous prestigious awards to its credit, the firm's services include full scale advertising programs; expert website development and search engine optimization; professional writing and ghostwriting; blog setup and management; e-commerce and email marketing; outdoor billboards; trade show and point-of-purchase displays; sell sheets, posters, flyers, brochures, and catalogs; logos and trademarks; photo enhancements; direct mail marketing; newsletters; public relations; and more: call (845) 493-0070. For more info, please visit: http://www.midhudsonmarketing.com

Understanding Copyright Infringement by Richard Trott

2010-11-29T06:33:00.001-08:00

Copyright is something that is very important when it comes to the protection of intellectual property. So basically, what is all the fuss around copyrighting? Well, to be short, it is a law that will protect any kind of work like literary works, musical works, movies, radio broadcasts and so on, from being redistributed or aired by someone else, which is not related in any way to them. These are called copyright laws and they will never let anyone use the content other have worked to create without the sole permission of the authors or creators of that certain content.

These laws are usually very stringent and they will depend on the country where each of us will be living in. So yes, if you are dealing with Copyright Infringement you should know that you are in for some big trouble. Let us now take a look at the various types of works that can be a subject of Copyright Infringements and which we have already mentioned above:

Photographs, sculpture, graphic work, architecture and so on are part of the artistic works. This means that these works are very imposing when it comes to the visuals side. If you fall in this category and have such works under your sleeve, then you should know that they are very well protected by the law.

Musical works includes everything that is related to music and you should know that not only will your lyrics be the subject of copyrighted protection, but also the notes that you have used in your songs.

Books, poems, business letters, they are all part of the literary works and it would take a long time if we were to name all of them here. You will never have to worry about your works being plagiarized by others, as there are stringent laws that will protect you from these people.

When it comes to Infringement of copyright,video recordings like movies, soundtracks, radio shows, they can also be very well covered by the law and even the soundtrack of a movie will be considered as part of the movie, even if it belongs to many artists. You are also in for the same benefits when it comes to sound recordings. Thus no one will be able to reproduce them without your permission.

So here you are, some of the things that copyrighting laws will cover. If you will ever find yourself in the situation of having your content plagiarized or used without your permission, you can safely turn to the law as you will be the winner of the dispute. If you wish to do some Copyright search, then you can use a Copyright application available for free on the internet.

If you would like to know more about Copyright and Copyright Infringement, please visit our website.

Copyright Laws Are Serious and You Have the Right to Defend Your Work! by Lance Winslow

2010-11-21T13:34:00.002-08:00

As a hobby writer in retirement and a highly prolific writer of e-books and online articles I can tell you that we have a severe problem on the Internet with copyright violations. I can't tell you how many of my articles have been stolen and placed onto other websites, and I've even seen where my articles were slightly rewritten and filled with anchored key words, and then the individuals who own the website leave my name on it. Not only does this make me look bad, but they have no right to use that content in that way.

Luckily, I claim copyright to what I write, and I have the right to defend myself, and my work. If you are a writer or you have intellectual property, or you have written books, or articles online or articles in electronic magazines you also have the same rights. The unfortunate challenge is that this problem is so pervasive that you can't possibly track down everyone that violates your copyrights, because no one has that much time in a day. Worse, if you hire someone to track down all these folks it could cost you a ton of money.

Nevertheless, if you can track down such individuals you may be surprised to find that you can serve them and have them come to court and they will actually have to pay you a good chunk of money. One newspaper in Las Vegas the Las Vegas Review Journal is going after people who have stolen their content and placed it on their blogs or websites. It is probably their contention that this endeavor will pay for itself, and the word will get out to folks online not to steal their content anymore.

They have every right to do this, although there are a lot of people online complaining about it, however, it's usually the people who have stolen the content, and that now found themselves in court, and don't want to pay. Please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 21,500 articles was a lot of work - because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off.

Can You Copyright News Headlines? by Adele A Pace

2010-11-21T13:34:00.000-08:00

This article addresses the law relating to copyright in news headlines and explores the case law relating to whether media publishers can protect their headlines as original literary works.

Media companies have tried to claim copyright protection over newspaper headlines reproduced on the internet. News publishers have claimed that news headlines qualify for copyright protection as original literary works under copyright legislation. As early as 1918 in the case of International News Service v Associated Press 248 U.S. 215 the US Supreme Court has held that there can be no copyright in facts or 'news of the day'.

Courts have been reluctant to afford literary copyright to titles, characters and news headlines. However newspaper publishers see the reproduction or abstracting of headlines as theft of their content. Newspaper publishers have tried to obtain copyright protection in their headlines as discrete original literary works under copyright legislation.

For copyright protection to exist a literary work must exist and not every piece of writing or printing will constitute a literary work within the meaning of the law.

Typically, single words, short phrases, advertising slogans, characters and news headlines have been refused copyright protection even where they have been invented or newly coined by an author. The courts have given different reasons for denying copyright protection to such works. One reason offered is that the 'works' are too trivial or not substantial enough to qualify for copyright protection. The case of Exxon Corporation v Exxon Insurance Consultants Ltd (1981) 3 All ER 241 is a leading English precedent where copyright was refused for the word Exxon as an original literary work.

Exxon argued it enjoyed copyright in the word Exxon having invested time and energy in employing linguists to invent the word, contending that the actual size of the literary work doesn't preclude a work from acquiring copyright protection. The court found that the work was too short or slight to amount to a copyright work.

The Court also stated that although the word was invented and original it had no particular meaning comparing it with the word 'Jabberwocky' used for Lewis Carroll's famous poem. US case law has only recognised limited intellectual property rights in invented names or fictional characters in exceptional cases. There is no modern english or Australian case which has recognised that titles, phrases, song and book titles should be granted copyright protection.

Publishers asserting copyright in headlines say that compiling and arresting headlines involve a high degree of novelty and creativity, and should qualify as original literary works. To be a literary work, a work has to convey pleasure or afford enjoyment or instruction. It must also be original and to satisfy the test of originality it must be original not just in the sense of originating from an identifiable author rather than copied, but also original in the particular form of expression in which an author conveys ideas or information. This is because copyright is not meant to protect facts or ideas.

The question whether copyright can subsist in newspaper headlines was discussed briefly by a Judge in a Scottish case called Shetland Times Ltd v Wills [1997] FSH 604. The Judge didn't arrive at a final conclusion as to whether a newspaper headline can be a literary work, but expressed reservations about granting copyright to headlines, especially where they only provide a brief indication of the subject matter of the items they refer to in an article.

Newspaper headlines are similar in nature to titles of a book or other works and titles, slogans and short phrases which have been refused copyright protection. In the case of IceTV Pty Ltd v Nine Network Australia Pty Ltd [2009] HCA 14, the High Court held that no copyright can subsist in a programme title alone. The Courts have based their reasons for refusing copyright protection to such works both of the basis that they are too short (see Francis Day & Hunter Ltd v Twentieth Century Fox Corp Ltd (194) AC 112) or alternatively that titles of newspapers, songs, magazines, books, single words and advertising slogans lack sufficient originality to attract copyright protection.

The title 'Opportunity Knocks' for a game show was refused protection, as was the title "The Man who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" for a song and "Splendid Misery" for a novel. Courts have also refused copyright protection for invented names such as Kojak and newspaper titles such as 'The Mirror'. Such titles and names may however be protected by other forms of intellectual property such as trademark law or the tort of passing off.

Whilst Courts have recognised that newspaper headlines may involve creative flair and be clever and engaging but represent little more than the fact or idea conveyed.

Adele Pace - http://www.pacelegal.com.au - For more resources on internet law, e-commerce and intellectual property.

Beware of Copyright Infringement When Recording Sound Effects by Alan M McKinney

2010-11-14T05:51:00.000-08:00

Copyright is a set of rights assigned to the owner/creator of a piece of original work. Those rights are assigned automatically upon creation of the work. For the sound recordist and designer, these rights are essential in order to give control over any sound recordings created and how they can be used. It's fair to say they are the lifeblood of our work.

Copyright must be respected and considered at all times when recording sound effects. It's easy to overlook possible copyright infringements when out in the busy world recording. We are bombarded with recorded sound on a daily basis and it has become an ingrained part of our lives. From advertising and television and radio programmes to toys and ringtones, copyright material is everywhere and it's very easy to accidentally capture sound under copyright in a sound effect recording. If you do, it renders that sound effect unusable with the possibility of serious legal action being taken against you.

So just how easy is it to accidentally capture copyright material in a sound effect recording? The short answer is very easy. On many occasions I have been in the studio editing down recordings I have just made and realised I captured a ringtone of a passing person's phone or music being played in a passing car. It may sound insignificant, but those ringtones or that music is under copyright and it's illegal to record or distribute copyrighted work without permission from the copyright owner.

I have compiled a list of just some of the copyrighted sounds we hear regularly and may accidentally capture when recording sound effects:

1. Music - music is everywhere: on the radio; television; stereo system; background music in shops; restaurants and bars; computer games; toys; gadgets; sporting events and more.

2. Ringtones - most modern cell phones have a range of recorded ringtones available and many are under copyright. Even that old sound of a 'Bell' telephone is probably a recording and under copyright.

3. Toys and Games - electronic toys and games often use short audio recordings. From an action figure's spoken catchphrase to the buzzer on a board game, they are probably under copyright.

4. Computer Games - It's almost a certainty that the audio in any computer game is under copyright, including amusement arcade games.

5. Software - All those interface beeps, button clicks, musical signatures etc. are all likely to be under copyright.

6. Recorded Announcements - These can be some of the easiest copyright infringements to make. Recorded announcements can be heard in: train stations; airports; bus/coach terminals; sporting events; trains; aircraft; busses; ferries; elevators; shops and many more places.

So remember to always consider what and where you are recording. Take time to listen to the surroundings of where you are going to record to establish the risk of recording copyrighted material. It won't only be a waste of your time if you do but can land you in serious legal trouble.

Alan McKinney is the founder and co-owner of http://www.soundscalpel.com a professional sound effect and production music library and professional sound designer with over 15 years experience.

International Copyright Protection by Ramaswami Natarajan

2010-11-14T05:49:00.001-08:00

Copyright Intellectual Property can be protected at National and International. Copyright has international protection such as Berne convention, universal copyright convention, WIPO copyright Treaty, Rome convention, Brussels convention etc.

The International union for the protection of literary and artistic works was established in 1886 in Berne, Switzerland. It is popularly known as Berne Convention. It entered into force on 5th December, 1887 and it has been revised for five times. It is administered by world intellectual property organization (WIPO). The Berne convention has 38 articles and special provisions for the developing countries. The convention has established a minimum of protection of life plus 50 years or an alternative of fifty years from publication of anonymous work and pseudonymous work. India is a member of the Berne convention.

One of the International copyright protections is Universal Copyright Convention (UCC). The universal copyright convention was signed and entered into force on September 6, 1952. It was revised on 1971 at Paris. The protection given is for published as well as unpublished works. The member countries must grant a minimum copyright term of 25 years from publication, or life of the author plus 25 years. The foreign authors of other member countries must be granted exclusively rights for at least seven years.

The next International Copyright protection for the performers, producers of phonogram and broadcasting organizations is Rome convention. The Rome convention was completed on October 26, 1961 and entered into force on may 18, 1964 basically intend to protect the neighboring rights. Phonogram is a sound recording. The rights in respect of phonograms and performances and broadcasting are called neighboring rights.

The benefits of this convention are performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasters. The protection is granted for twenty years term will vary according to the nature of work. The eligibility to participate in this convention is that a state must be a member of either of the Berne convention or the universal copyright convention.

Another International Copyright protection is WIPO copyright Treaty. It was adopted by the diplomatic conference at Geneva on December 20, 1996 and entered into force on January 1, 1996. This convention is for the protection of rights of performers and produces of phonograms. The term of protection is fifty years.

Some treaties convention gives protection for the unauthorized duplication. On October 29, 1971, the convention for the producers of phonograms against unauthorized duplication of their phonograms is signed at Geneva. The main purpose of this Geneva Convention is to fight against the practice of piracy by third parties.

The convention relating to the distribution of programme- carrying signals transmitted by satellite and audio- visual works is Brussels convention signed on may 21 1974. The main purpose is to battle the misappropriation of satellite signals on an international level. The treaty on international registration of audio-visual works Geneva signed on April 20, 1989 at Geneva. It deals with the registration of audio- visual works at the international level.

Ramaswami Natarajan Patent and Trademark Attorney is a co-founder of TMPsearchers.com. He created the India Patent Agent Examination Course syllabus. Provides Copyright registration services and can liaise at Indian Patent Office.

Copyright Law Online - Follow the Rules in France or Go Dark

2010-11-07T05:55:00.000-08:00

by Lance Winslow

It looks like the European Union is all over the copyright violations happening online. Right now they are going after Piracy downloads of music, and movies. Next, however they will be going after digital books (eBooks), and stolen news articles which are put onto blogs, or copied into Internet forums. The UK has also talked about this, and they too are making laws to prevent copyright violations.

In the United States we have a huge lobby in Hollywood, in both the record industry and the film industry which is trying to prevent unauthorized downloads. In France, the UK, and all throughout the European Union, as well as the United States, Internet laws are being introduced that will allow government officials and regulators to turn off websites who violate copyrights.

In some cases there may be a three strikes law, but one of the biggest fears of people who own websites is that there will be false complaint from competitors and their sites will be shut down unnecessarily. Yes, this could happen in the United States as well, and there have been things tried in the past to shut down websites which may have malware on them.

We also know in the United States that the media companies, especially the newspapers which are nearly bankrupt have talked with the Federal Trade Commission and the Congress about the ongoing copyright piracy. Not long ago, there was a very interesting article in the Wall Street Journal titled; "All Eyes on France As Officials in First New Anti-Piracy Law," by Max Colchester which was published in the third week of October 2010.

The article states that in this new law in France warnings will be sent out to anyone who is suspected of downloading copyright material. In other words, Internet users could have their ISP turned off, which would mean they can't even get e-mails if they are caught downloading stuff. Three-strike type rule - and basically you would receive a set of warnings according to the article;

"your Internet connection has been used to commit acts, recognized by police authorities, which could be regarded as a breach of law," and at that point you would have to prove that you did or didn't personally do this, and then defend your right not to lose your Internet service. That's pretty scary isn't it? It sounds rather draconian in many cases. To get a full understanding of this topic, I recommend you go to the Wall Street Journal website and read that article.

Further, I'd like you to know that our think tank is been considering all this, and we are quite worried that this will be misused by authorities for various purposes; such as to limit political dissent, free speech, and exert more control over the society. In fact, it could also be something that happens in the United States. Perhaps, this is why The Electronic Freedom Foundation is also looking into all of this. Please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 21,500 articles was a lot of work - because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off.

Copyright Laws Are Serious and You Have the Right to Defend Your Work!

2010-11-07T05:54:00.000-08:00

by Lance Winslow

As a hobby writer in retirement and a highly prolific writer of e-books and online articles I can tell you that we have a severe problem on the Internet with copyright violations. I can't tell you how many of my articles have been stolen and placed onto other websites, and I've even seen where my articles were slightly rewritten and filled with anchored key words, and then the individuals who own the website leave my name on it. Not only does this make me look bad, but they have no right to use that content in that way.

Luckily, I claim copyright to what I write, and I have the right to defend myself, and my work. If you are a writer or you have intellectual property, or you have written books, or articles online or articles in electronic magazines you also have the same rights. The unfortunate challenge is that this problem is so pervasive that you can't possibly track down everyone that violates your copyrights, because no one has that much time in a day. Worse, if you hire someone to track down all these folks it could cost you a ton of money.

Nevertheless, if you can track down such individuals you may be surprised to find that you can serve them and have them come to court and they will actually have to pay you a good chunk of money. One newspaper in Las Vegas the Las Vegas Review Journal is going after people who have stolen their content and placed it on their blogs or websites. It is probably their contention that this endeavor will pay for itself, and the word will get out to folks online not to steal their content anymore.

They have every right to do this, although there are a lot of people online complaining about it, however, it's usually the people who have stolen the content, and that now found themselves in court, and don't want to pay. Please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 21,500 articles was a lot of work - because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off.

Anti-Copyright - An Interesting Dilemma by Rishad Sukhia

2010-10-31T06:00:00.001-07:00

Intellectual Property

Although the legal principles governing the concept of intellectual property (IP) have existed for centuries, it was the wake of the 19th Century that brought about the term "intellectual property" and only in the 20th Century did it become a more common issue. Nowadays, it is difficult to find a single intangible asset, whether it be an artistic, literary or musical work; an invention or a discovery or merely a symbol, design, word, phrase or piece of software, that is not protected by IP Law. IP deals with different types of creations of the mind for which property rights are attached. Some common forms of IP include copyrights, patents, trademarks and industrial design rights; the first of which will be our focus in this article.

The overarching concept of IP is premised on the notion of "a man's right to the product of his mind" which came from Ayn Rand, the famous Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. This basically means that if you (whether you are male or female) come up with an idea or creation, you are entitled to some ownership rights in that idea or creation. When described as such, the concept would seem to be appealing to virtually anyone; it seems fair and just. Why, then, is there something called "anti-copyright"?

Anti-Copyright

Defining the word 'copyright' is probably a good first step. It refers to the set of exclusive rights granted to the creator or author of an original work, embracing the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. For example, software copyright deals with the rights attached to machine-readable software, often used by companies attempting to prevent the unauthorised copying of the software it personally created. Anti-copyright is thus, the absolute or partial opposition to copyright laws. But then one might ask: why would anyone be against the protection of a person's individual creation or idea? The fundamental anti-copyright argument runs directly counter to the classic copyright argument stipulating that, awarding developers temporary monopolies over a source of income from their works promotes creativity and development. Anti-copyright advocates maintain that copyright rarely benefits the society as a whole but rather serves to enrich a few at the expense of creativity. Furthermore, they point to flaws on both economic and cultural grounds that the concept of copyright has.

Economic Arguments

The economic arguments are founded on the notion that copyright produces an intellectual monopoly. The right of the creator to sell copies of his/her products or creations is not the controversial matter. It is the right to control how other people use their copies after sale which, is contentious according to anti-copyright proponents,as it creates a monopoly enforceable by law. Furthermore, proponents suggest that copyright laws increase the cost of creation and thus consequently decrease the incentive to create.

The French group Association des audionautes, although not completely anti-copyright, believe in moving towards the legalisation of peer to peer file-sharing where the artists can be compensated through a surcharge on internet service provider fees. Other groups such as Hipatia and Hacktivismo base their anti-copyright arguments on the concept of "freedom of knowledge", the idea that knowledge should be "shared in solidarity" and the contention that copyright law is hindering human progress.

Cultural Arguments

Do any of these arguments have any merit? To an extent, they clearly do, however the more important question we should be asking is: do they have any merit when balanced against an individual's right to benefit from an idea he/she independently created? Why should the hard work of one simply be distributed to and benefited from by others with no cost to them at all? Shouldn't an individual's hard work, effort and time be recognised and consequently awarded? The simple answer is yes; a creator is entitled to have his/her work protected and recognised and a creator is entitled to control what is done with his/her creation. But clearly this view is not shared by the leagues of anti-copyright advocates.

Interested in learning more about web design? Brightlabs is a leading website design company and provides expert advice to assist your business online.

Copyright Law: An Overview by J M Dawson

2010-10-31T05:59:00.001-07:00

Copyright law is a property protection law that protects any type of literary property, such as literary work, music, films, sound recordings, artistic work, and dramatic work of the original writer or creator. The law comes into action the moment the work is created. This law helps in protecting the rights of the writers and creators.

Works Protected By Copyright Law

Literary works includes poems, shorts stories, business letters, books, novels, and any other type of original writing. Dramatic work includes dance, sound, and mimes. Musical works includes the rhymes, the musical notes, and the materials that affect the human ear, like harmonies or orchestras. Artistic works include photographs, sculptures, architecture, and graphics. Film and sound recording or broadcasts include sound tracks and the dramatic work that goes into making films.

Infringement Of Copyright Law

Any kind of recreation of these works is considered copyright infringement, and copyright law kicks in. The copyright law does not protect ideas or patents. Patents are protected by patent law.

Copyright law comes into effect as soon as a literary work is created. However, it is a good idea to protect the copyright of the material by indicating the copyrights after the work is completed, so any accidental reuse can be avoided. Further, one can register the work at a copyright office for safety purposes. This is especially applicable to some huge literary works, or innovative work, or any other high-value work, such as novels, new research, a good story, and many more. If a work is registered at the copyright office, any claim of ownership or any claim against misuse of copyrighted material can be dealt with successfully.

There are several copyright registration options available, online registration and in paper registration to name a few, and these cost less than $100 in registration fees.

Legal Recourse

If one finds that a particular work has been stolen and reproduced elsewhere, one can file a copyright infringement claim. However, the onus is on the claimant to prove that the material was originally created by him or her and prove that it had copyrights before the other party reproduced the work. If the material is registered at the copyrights office, it is easier to win the claim; however, if it is not registered, one would need an expert attorney to represent one's case.

If one is beginning any important literary or artistic work, which is high value, and if one believes that losing the work can cost a lot financially, one can hire a copyright attorney, who will ensure that the material is protected from the beginning and adequate safeguard measures are taken to prevent any accidental or intentional infringement.

Any printed material immediately comes under the purview of copyright law. However, the value of the printed matter differs from something nominal to high value. Thus, the impact of copyright infringement also varies based on the value and type of material. It is always a good practice to immediately register any printed material with a copyright office to avoid legal hassles and financial loss that may occur in the future.

Plagiarism sleuths tackle full-text biomedical articles

2010-10-31T05:57:00.000-07:00

In scientific publishing, how much reuse of text is too much? Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech and collaborators have shown that a computer-based text-searching tool is capable of unearthing questionable publication practices from thousands of full-text papers in the biomedical literature.

The first step in the process is to find out what is restated before zeroing in on who may have crossed an ethically unacceptable threshold. The findings, published in PLoS ONE, offer hope for curbing unethical scientific publication practice, a growing problem throughout the world.

"Building upon our earlier work reported in Science and Nature, which uncovered ethically questionable journal articles by comparing their abstracts, we have now re-tuned our computer program, eTBLAST, to scan thousands of full-text articles in PubMed Central, a freely available repository of full-text biomedical literature," said Harold "Skip" Garner, author on the paper and executive director of the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute. "Our goal was to measure how much and where in papers - for example, the introduction, methods or results sections - text is duplicated to establish the 'norm' in publishing. This will allow ethicists, which we are not, to begin to develop guidelines as to what is and what is not acceptable publication practice."

Although abstract search is an effective approach to detect potential plagiarism, full text analysis is needed to uncover all potential duplicate citations in the scientific literature. The researchers examined 72 011 full-text articles using the eTBLAST computer program, which is only the tip of the iceberg for the number of published biomedical articles in the archives.

"We found that most papers are novel, as expected in scientific reporting, but even in papers reporting novel results, certain sections, such as the introduction or methods section, frequently have large amounts of content that appear elsewhere," said Garner. The researchers went on to explain that the re-use of text in certain sections, such as the methods section of papers, where authors provide details on how the work was done, is not a bad thing because it is important to use the accepted and most consistent techniques. "We also expect that other sections like the results section to be very unique just like the abstract. And this is the case in the overwhelming majority of papers," said Garner.

The current study revealed that the introduction section tended to be copied the most in similar citations. Also review articles were confirmed as being particularly prone to repetition.

"We believe this type of research will help us write better, more informative scientific papers, and prepare reviewers and journal editors for interpreting the similarity results that are emerging from the computational analysis of scientific papers. This approach is becoming increasingly commonplace as part of the scientific review process," added Garner. "Before crossing the line between acceptable and unacceptable writing, it is important to know the location of the line," concluded Garner.

Do You Own Your Intellectual Property - Copyright by Maria Anassutzi

2010-10-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

Employees:

It is important first of all to ascertain whether the author is an employee as opposed to a consultant or freelance. In this regard, two questions must be clearly answered:

Is the author in fact an employee? And
If so, was the work created in the course of employment?
An employee is defined as someone employed under a contract of service. The courts will consider the contract as a whole, to see if it is strongly indicative of one form of relationship over another, taking into account factors such as:
the degree of control being exercised,
the provision of tools or equipment,
entitlement to holidays,
sick pay and
the tax arrangements.

Having established that, the creator is an employee, in order to benefit from the statutory ownership provisions, the employer must show that, the work was created "in course of [the employee's] employment".

So, careful consideration must be given how this is defined in the contract of employment, including part-time, working from home etc.

Consultants:

As with all non-employees, consultants will, by default, own the copyright in the works they create during the consultancy. This applies even if they have been expressly commissioned to do the work.

So, for example, freelance photographers, portrait artists and consultant computer programmers will all be the first owners of their works, in preference to the person paying for their services. If this is not desired, then an assignment of the copyright must be put in place and, in event, the terms and scope of any licence should be clearly defined. As an assignment of future works, the best place to deal with it, is in the letter or terms of engagement.

Maria is founder and director of Anassutzi & Co limited a specialist legal and business strategy consultancy having previously held a number of senior positions including being partner and head of IP/IT in London. Maria speaks fluently Greek, Italian and has basic knowledge of the French language.

Maria is a seasoned multi-jurisdictional lawyer with vast experience in general corporate commercial law, specialising in intellectual property, information technology, e-commerce and outsourcing and having extensive in-house legal experience and having worked in City law firms and multinational companies.

How to Copyright a Text, Song, Book, Screenplay, Manuscript Or Photos by Mat Grell

2010-10-17T06:50:00.001-07:00

The intellectual property that may relate to getting your next song, book or screenplay protected:

Copyright
Each original work of authorship fixed in a tangible or electronic form, including text, graphics, and pictures can be the basis of one or more copyright applications. As a reminder, you should always include a notice on all web pages in the footer and all documents available on the website fixed on paper or in an electronic form, such as © 200_ Full Name/Company Name. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Note if multiple authors or designers are contributing to the work and a single person or entity desires to own the collective work then the authors or designers must transfer their rights to the single person or entity via an assignment/work-made-for-hire agreement; otherwise, each contributor is owed a ratable share of the profits realized from use, license, or sale of the work.

Contracts
Ownership rights should be clearly defined in an Assignment /work-made-for-hire agreement or set forth as clauses in authorship service agreements requiring agreement on intellectual property ownership by all parties participating in creation of the work.

Please do not take any shortcuts or casually skip over and of these steps. Too often, a business idea or product really takes off in the marketplace and there are no contracts in place as to which parties are responsible for having controlling rights of the product. In turn, money comes in and the courts end up deciding who should get it. Do not let this happen to you!

© 2009, Mat Grell; all rights reserved, world-wide.
* This article, and/or the reading thereof, shall not be construed as offering, containing or receiving of legal advice, and shall not create any attorney-client relationship or privilege. If you are considering protecting your intellectual property, you should consult with a patent attorney.

Mat Grell, U.S. Patent Attorney
http://www.bgiplaw.com/
BG IP Law, LLC is an intellectual property law firm that serves clients nationwide including Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, & Licensing.

Beware of Copyright Infringement When Recording Sound Effects by Alan M McKinney

2010-10-10T07:29:00.001-07:00

Copyright is a set of rights assigned to the owner/creator of a piece of original work. Those rights are assigned automatically upon creation of the work. For the sound recordist and designer, these rights are essential in order to give control over any sound recordings created and how they can be used. It's fair to say they are the lifeblood of our work.

Copyright must be respected and considered at all times when recording sound effects. It's easy to overlook possible copyright infringements when out in the busy world recording. We are bombarded with recorded sound on a daily basis and it has become an ingrained part of our lives. From advertising and television and radio programmes to toys and ringtones, copyright material is everywhere and it's very easy to accidentally capture sound under copyright in a sound effect recording. If you do, it renders that sound effect unusable with the possibility of serious legal action being taken against you.

So just how easy is it to accidentally capture copyright material in a sound effect recording? The short answer is very easy. On many occasions I have been in the studio editing down recordings I have just made and realised I captured a ringtone of a passing person's phone or music being played in a passing car. It may sound insignificant, but those ringtones or that music is under copyright and it's illegal to record or distribute copyrighted work without permission from the copyright owner.

I have compiled a list of just some of the copyrighted sounds we hear regularly and may accidentally capture when recording sound effects:

1. Music - music is everywhere: on the radio; television; stereo system; background music in shops; restaurants and bars; computer games; toys; gadgets; sporting events and more.

2. Ringtones - most modern cell phones have a range of recorded ringtones available and many are under copyright. Even that old sound of a 'Bell' telephone is probably a recording and under copyright.

3. Toys and Games - electronic toys and games often use short audio recordings. From an action figure's spoken catchphrase to the buzzer on a board game, they are probably under copyright.

4. Computer Games - It's almost a certainty that the audio in any computer game is under copyright, including amusement arcade games.

5. Software - All those interface beeps, button clicks, musical signatures etc. are all likely to be under copyright.

6. Recorded Announcements - These can be some of the easiest copyright infringements to make. Recorded announcements can be heard in: train stations; airports; bus/coach terminals; sporting events; trains; aircraft; busses; ferries; elevators; shops and many more places.

So remember to always consider what and where you are recording. Take time to listen to the surroundings of where you are going to record to establish the risk of recording copyrighted material. It won't only be a waste of your time if you do but can land you in serious legal trouble.

Alan McKinney is the founder and co-owner of http://www.soundscalpel.com/ a professional sound effect and production music library and professional sound designer with over 15 years experience.

Get Your Trademark With Search, Classes and Registration by Mukesh Singh Kumar

2010-10-10T07:27:00.001-07:00

In every country now it seems to get some over strict rules for corporate sector. For developing countries like for India, China, Singapore and many more that involves in export and import are compulsory to follow all types of business rules and regulations. These countries comprise wide range of corporate sectors offer different types of products and services to the world market. In this all world leading companies usually hire the services of business law companies that facilitate all types paper work and other business legal solutions to these business houses at the international level. There are many business companies that offer all these types business law services to corporate sector of different level. Among the different services trademark search India, federal trademark search, company registrations, company formations, company names search, trademark monitor, paralegal trademark, copyright registration, PCT filling in India, patent trademark attorney, brand registration, logo registration, trademark infringement and many more. All these services involve huge paper work that should be submitted to particular law office scattered to the different sections of the globe and it is very easy for these business law companies to come over with these legal services that must be follow by different business houses world wide.

Among these services trademark registration is one of the most demanded and favorable legal services of the corporate sector. Trademark is a mark in the form of design, logo, attractive words or phase that represents a particular company in the world market. As per the rule one should not use / copied / misuse other's trademark previously registered by the trademark register office. There are many rules and procedures to be follow for trademark registration including describing a mark to the trademark registration application, when it was first used along with classification and describing the services or products on which the mark will be used. Apart from these trademark search plays an important role for business houses where these business law companies facilitates the complete search for trademark with its legal availability. As in many cases there are chances to get trademark which is not legally available.

Mainly during the time of trademark litigation, these business law firms played a vital role for the cheated company where they have to submit claim application and many other processes have to follow in order to get justice. Apart from these trademark watch and trademark classes are also offered by law firms under which the classification of trade mark has taken place. These classifications involve the types of services or products under which the trademark is to register. These legal firms assist you in selecting classification and deciding what type of products you have and under which classification your trademark is to be get registered. Besides these, there are many services that one should follow in order to get all types of benefits at the corporate level. It is recommended to follow as without following it is very difficult to run business smoothly across its boundaries in the long run.

"Get Your Trademark with Search, Classes and Registration" is a useful article for trademarkregistration. Get more useful information about trademark litigation, trademark watch, and trademark classes.

How Generic-Trademark Lost Its Luggage! by Cheryl L. Hodgson, J.D.

2010-10-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

The costly and belated attempt of Hotels.com to create a protectible trademark and brand from a generic domain name illustrates a point I have been ranting about to internet business owners for several years. A generic term will never be a trademark or brand for the product or service being sold. Before investing thousands of dollars in marketing and advertising solely under a generic or descriptive domain name, consider adopting and registering a term that can be a valuable brand. A strong trademark will distinguish your services and can be used to stake out your turf in the marketplace.

Early internet marketers and domain aggregators have spent the last 10 years creating misinformation and leaving many internet businesses with weak or no brand protection. Marketers in their quest to secure easy search rankings, as well as domain resellers seeking to drive up prices, failed to communicate this important message. Now it is not just my pet peeve, it is the law according to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Despite spending huge amounts in legal fees to convince the court that HOTELS.COM could be a trademark, the efforts to retrieve its lost luggage failed. In re Hotels.com, L.P., 573 F.3d 1300 (Fed. Cir. 2009) affirmed that a generic word can NEVER be trademarked, at least not for the goods or services being sold under that name. The whole point of having trademarks is to identify source. By definition, a generic term cannot identify source. Do not be generic. Be unique. Get protected.

Hotels.com thought that by adding a dot-com to the generic word "hotels", they could get trademark protection. That is not the case. A word is still generic regardless if it has a dot-com or not. A dot-com merely shows internet commerce.

The only argument available to business owners who are wedded to a weak or generic term, is to throw money and legal fees into attempting to prove the term has "acquired distinctiveness" so that the public identifies the term with a particular business or source for goods and services. As was the case here, such efforts after the fact are an uphill battle not easily won. The company failed to persuade the board that its survey showing 76% of 277 consumers thought the domain name was a brand name was sufficient evidence. The board stated that "the survey design did not adequately reflect the difference between a brand name and a domain name."

So what does this mean now that it is not a trademark? It means that they cannot sue other companies who use the term "hotels.com" to trigger ads on Bing(TM), Google(TM) or other search engines. Try doing a search for "hotels.com" and see what comes up-the official website, plus Travelocity®, Priceline® and many more.

The TTAB cited other websites to demonstrate a competitive need for others to use "hotels" as part of their own domain names and trademarks.

Copyright 2008 Hodgson Law Group - Cheryl L. Hodgson, J.D.
For expert Branding advice visit: http://brandaideblog.com/. Visit us online: http://www.hodgson-law.com/.
BRANDAIDE: Driving Your Brand to Distinction

What Is the Most Important Requirement of a Trademark? by Wendy Moyer

2010-10-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

Because a trademark has to be able to identify particular goods or services the most important requirement for a trademark is that it is distinctive. That is the only way that the trademark of one company can be distinguished from that of another company.

One of the most important reasons that trademarks need to be distinctive is that it will prevent potential customers from being tricked into purchasing a product from another company that they think was made by your company.

How Can You Make a Trademark Distinctive?

Trademarks can be made to be distinctive by having a unique or fantasy name, such as AACCCAA. Another way a trademark can become distinctive is if the trademark holder builds up recognition of the mark.

For example the word "Apple" is a very common word in the English language. However a computer and communications company was extremely successful promoting that name.

The Distinctiveness of a Trademark Can Vary Over Time

A trademark can become more or less distinctive as the years go by. If a trademark holder aggressively uses a trademark it can become more famous and subsequently may be identified more easily by the buying public.

However, if trademark holders becomes lax in their marketing and public relations efforts then the trademark may become a generic name that people use for every product in that category. You could probably think of a particular brand of tissues that this may have happened to.

Once a trademark is looked at as being a generic name by the public it can destroy all of the trademark rights that the holder of the trademark had earned. Therefore, it shouldn't be surprising to learn that the majority of trademark holders spend considerable time and money trying to stop people from using their trademarked name as a generic name.

Distinctiveness is Applicable to a Trademark as a Whole

The distinctiveness of a trademark is determined by its whole rather than its individual components. In other words, the words "heavenly" and "dreams" by themselves can be quite descriptive if they are used to describe a mattress. Alone they cannot be trademarked. But used together as "Heavenly Dreams" they may be able to be trademarked because they form an atypical juxtaposition which creates a certain amount of distinctiveness.

This does not mean that other companies could no longer use the words "heavenly" or "dreams" on their mattresses. But it would mean that if "Heavenly Dreams" is trademarked by another company they can't sell mattresses called "Heavenly Dreams."

Next, to find out more about how affordable trademarking a name can be go to => http://www.trademarks411.com/

Congress Considers Copyright Protection For Fashion Designs by Adam G. Garson, Esquire

2010-09-26T07:05:00.001-07:00

Being intellectual property lawyers, our office frequently receives calls from young entrepreneurs asking us to copyright their latest fashion design. Sadly, we tell them that copyright does not offer the protection they seek and, in fact, they will have to enter the market place with the expectation that their designs, if good enough, will inspire "knock off" copies.

This state of affairs may change, however, should the Design Piracy Prohibition Act (H.R. 2196) become law. The bill, which was introduced in April by William (Bill) Delahunt, U.S. Representative, Massachusetts 10th District, offers copyright protection to fashion designs broadly defined as clothing, handbags, duffel bags, tote bags, and eyeglass frames.

The proposed legislation amends Chapter 13 of the Copyright Act, which offers design protection to a single category of useful articles, the design of boat hulls. Under current law, fashion designs are deemed "useful articles," defined by the Copyright Act as "an article having an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not merely to portray the appearance of the article or to convey information." 17 U.S.C. § 101.

Designs of useful articles can be protected under current copyright law "only if, and only to the extent that, such design incorporates pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that can be identified separately from, and are capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of the article." Limited protection may be afforded by trademark (trade dress) and patent (design patents) law; however, these have not been practical alternatives for the fashion industry.

The proposed law provides only a three-year term of protection for fashion designs because fashion trends are typically short-lived. Other features of the bill provide that applications be filed with the U.S. Copyright Office, which would be required to maintain a publicly accessible, computerized database of protected fashion designs, including images. The bill makes protection unavailable for fashion designs that have been made public by the designer more than six months before the application for registration. It also narrows the definition of "innocent infringement" to impose liability for those who had a reasonable grounds to believe that design protection was claimed; and increases damages for infringement.

Keep in mind that Congress' previous attempts at providing copyright protection for fashion designs have been largely unsuccessful. We will follow this bill with interest. Click here to review and track this legislation.

Adam G. Garson is an attorney with the Media, Pennsylvania office of Lipton, Weinberger & Husick. LWH is an intellectual property, technology, litigation, and business law firm based in the Philadelphia region since the early 1990's. LWH provides its clients with a full range of legal services related to patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, Internet law, domain name disputes, business law, and litigation.

For more than 20 years, Adam Garson has represented individuals and business of all sizes in a wide spectrum of business, commercial litigation and intellectual property matters. He now concentrates his practice on copyright, trademark and computer/Internet law with a focus on assisting entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses, particularly in the technology sector. He also represent individuals in the entertainment and publishing industry.

Adam G. Garson, Esquire
LIPTON, WEINBERGER & HUSICK
agarson@lwh-law.com
http://www.lwh-law.com
http://www.garson-law.com
201 North Jackson Street
Media, PA 19063
Voice +1 610.565.7630
Fax +1 610.565.7631

Trademark a Slogan to Protect Your Company From Business Theft by Wendy Moyer

2010-09-26T07:03:00.001-07:00

When most people think of business theft they think about robberies, shoplifting, or embezzlement. However there's a much more devious type of theft that can happen to business owners that most people don't think much about.

It's called intellectual property theft and way too many companies do not do enough to prevent their intellectual property from being stolen. Then when it does happen they may not do anything about. That's because they may not realize the implications of the theft and how much it could end up costing them.

Intellectual property theft is the misuse or theft of proprietary information.

Some examples are:

1. Trademarks

Trademarks protect a company's name, logo, product names, package designs, and slogans.

2. Trade secrets

Trade secrets protect things like a restaurants signature recipes.

3. Copyrights

Copyrights protect things like computer code, video and audio recordings, and written material.

4. Patents

Patents protect discoveries and inventions.

How Much Can Intellectual Property Theft Cost a Company?

Even though trademark infringement, copyright violations, and other types of intellectual property theft might not cause any immediate financial losses they can ultimately be even more costly than physical thefts.

Records from the U.S. Department of Justice from this past decade show that when intellectual property theft defendants were convicted more than half of them had stolen intellectual property valued at more than $70,000. In addition, there were awards of a minimum of half a million dollars for almost 60% of the cases.

If your company has a slogan the only way that you will be able to protect it from being stolen is by having it trademarked.

After your slogan is trademarked you will always want to mark it clearly.

There are two basic trademark symbols. If you haven't registered it (which you should), you can garner some protection if you use the basic trademark symbol every time that the slogan (or your product name, etc) is mentioned.

After you register a trademark you can then use the symbol wherever it is appropriate.

If you have found that your trademark has been infringed upon on one of your websites your company can send a "DMCA notice" to the company that hosts the offending entity's website. This notice, which is part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), should also be sent to the search engines and any other related parties.

The notice should force the hosting provider to remove the content. When the search engines receive the notice they may de-index the website so that potential new visitors will not be aware that the offending website even exists.

Whether trademark infringement has happened on line or off line you should also consider sending a cease and desist letter that details the trademark infringement and requests that the offending party promptly remove it and discontinue its use.

Next, to discover how easy it is to trademark a slogan, go to http://www.trademarks411.com/

When and How to Copyright Your Book by Melinda Copp

2010-09-20T07:42:00.001-07:00

Copyrighting your book is an important step in the process of becoming an author because it helps protect against people taking or using your work without permission. But how do you get a copyright? And when should you file for one? If you're unsure about how to protect your work, consider the following suggestions.

First, a quick disclaimer: I am not an attorney, and this article should not be taken as legal advice. Please use this only as a guide for where to find more information about how to protect your work. And, keep in mind that this is for authors in the United States. Laws in other countries may be different.

Okay, so here are the most common questions about copyrighting a book.

How do I copyright my book?
The process is actually pretty easy. After your book is published, all you have to do is go to the U.S. Copyright Office web site download and complete the paperwork, and send it in with your payment and two bound copies of your book. If you like, you can file before your book is published, but then after publication, you'll need to re-file it as a published work.

Do I need to copyright my book before I show it to an agent/editor/writing coach/colleague/teacher?
No. As soon as you write your book, it's actually copyrighted. You automatically own all the rights to everything you write, and if someone tries to take it and claim it as theirs, you can pursue legal action against them and win. Filing an official copyright just gives you added protection in case something should happen.

I can't tell you how many times I've asked a potential client to send me their manuscript and they've said, "I haven't copyrighted it yet--o how do I know you're not going to steal it?" This is a common concern, but in all the years I've worked in the book world, I've never heard of anyone having their manuscript stolen by an editor or agent. Ever. Why? Because, like I said, your work is legally protected as soon as you write it.

What about the title?
Sorry. You can't copyright a title, which means that anyone can use the exact same title you've used for your book. However, you may be able to trademark it. For more information on that, visit uspto.gov for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

How can I copyright my book idea?
You can't. Copyrights don't protect ideas, concepts, systems, or methods. If you write a description of your idea, or draw a picture of it, then you can copyright that.

Can I put the (c) symbol on my work, even if I haven't filed the official paperwork?
Yes, and you should. Use the symbol of the lowercase "C" inside the circle, or just (c), followed by the date the work was created to show that your work is protected.

Protecting your book with a copyright is essential. When you do it is up to you, but you'll definitely want to file after publication. It will help protect your work against plagiarism and use without permission. And if you have additional questions, the U.S. Copyright Office web site or talk to an attorney.

Melinda Copp helps aspiring self-help, business, and nonfiction authors write and publish books that establish expertise, achieve their goals, and share their message in a compelling way. Visit http://www.writerssherpaprograms.com/writeabook.html for a free copy of her Write Your Book Quick-Start Mini E-course.

The Importance of Registering a Trademark For Your Business

2010-09-20T07:41:00.001-07:00

One of the most important investments you can make in your business is to protect your company's unique look, or "face" of your company. Whether this is in the form of a name, phrase, logo, word or symbol, if it represents your company, it should be protected. That is why officially registering a trademark for your business is such an important step.

There are many negative consequences that could happen to your business should you neglect to register a trademark. As a business, you could lose the image of your business should another company have the same or similar name, logo or phrase. If this occurs and the other company has their trademarks registered, you would not only lose yours, but may have to pay monetary damages for infringing on their trademark(s).

Unfortunately, many businesses have to deal with these and other consequences simply by the lack of having registered a trademark. Imagine the consequences that would affect your business should another company's registered trademark be the same or similar to yours.

Your business may have to completely re-design your logo, change your business name or create a new phrase or slogan. This could confuse your current customers and clients, vendors and affiliates. Not to mention the costs of re-printing all materials and the advertising it would take to get your company's new image in the public eye.

By registering your trademark, you are protecting your business from this and other possible negative scenarios that can happen to businesses that lack a trademark. Trademark registration protects your business and unique company logo, slogan or other image that you and your customers depend on to stay consistent and represent your products or services.

By registering your trademark, you are giving your company as well as yourself as a business owner several means of protection. Federal registration protects your trademark across the country, even if you aren't a national company. Depending on state laws, state trademark registration can offer additional trademark infringement protection.

The negative affects of not registering your trademark are just too great to neglect this important step for your company. And the protection that registering your trademark provides is too beneficial for you to be without.

Unfortunately, many businesses do neglect this step because of the time and hassle that a trademark registration process can take. However, there are companies and services that can help your company through the process, saving you time and money and getting the necessary work done so you can feel confident and secure.

Wendy Moyer is a professional writer. Trademarks 411 allows you to register a trademark easily with services including trademark searching and trademark application processing.

Social Networking and TMI - Common Legal Mistakes People Make by Michael Wechsler

2010-09-13T05:37:00.000-07:00

Over 100 million people use popular social networking and microblogging sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Every day members are having so much fun sharing their personal lives with their fans aka "followers" or with their "friends", they forget to act carefully and prudently while online. It's easy to lose yourself in the moment, such as drinking at a bar. But unlike having loose lips at the bar, your words on a social network stay there indefinitely for all to see - and that can cause significant problems. The bottom line is that Twitter, Facebook and other social networks can cause people to publicly provide "TMI" - Too Much Information.

Perhaps the most common question I have seen asked in legal advice forums is whether a person can lose their job due to a posting on Facebook or Twitter, usually one that might cast a negative light on the employer or their job. The answer to this question should be obvious - there is no First Amendment or other legal "right of free speech" to share whatever negative opinions you may have about your job and still remain employed.

A typical example of what I hear includes the following. An employee might be bored at work and wants to share this thought (like numerous other fleeting thoughts) with her "friends" on Facebook. What she might forget is that some of these "friends" might include her boss, other employees or people in common with the boss. When the employee reports for work the following day, she's told that her services are no longer needed and possibly she is told the motivation for her termination.

If the employee had a case against her employer based upon some other legally protected right, she may have made proving her case significantly more difficult. An employer typically does not need to explain to the employee the reason for termination but it becomes even more justifiable in this instance based upon the employee's own admission that she does not like her work and may not care to perform at a high level. In the United Kingdom a young woman was fired as a result of her Facebook posts. The employer's justification was that she was obviously not of the right state of mind to perform and her level of dissatisfaction and lack of enthusiasm at work caused low morale. It is difficult for any lawyer to argue against this position.

A more egregious case of misconduct occurred where a young man went out drinking one evening and called in work to take a sick day the following morning. He posted a short blurb on his Facebook page about his prior night's carousing until causing his own illness and need for a sick day. The human resources department at this man's workplace discovered his Facebook post and decided that it would terminate him since sick days were not meant to be taken in this manner. Once again, it would be difficult for any lawyer to find fault with the company's actions even if a legal right to work existed.

The bottom line - always think before you share a post on a social network. You should think twice as long before microblogging on sites like Twitter, where it's even easier to share something dangerous without thinking. There are likely no legal rights that will protect you from the consequences of your own actions of "speaking" in cyberspace without care.

Michael M. Wechsler, Esq. is an experienced lawyer and administrator of the Free Legal Advice Forums at TheLaw.com since 1995. As a successful attorney, he has worked on cases covering Internet law, copyright and trademark, personal injury, medical malpractice, employment and discrimination and immigration law. Michael is also known as "The Law Professor" and has a popular Internet and Technology Blog.

Trademarks - Three Reasons You Should Trademark Your Business Name

2010-09-13T05:35:00.001-07:00

If you own a business, it's a good idea to trademark your business' name. There are several reasons why this is a very important decision to make to ensure the stability of your business' future.

a. Protection - By trademarking your business' name, you receive federal protection as well as state law protection. The state protection varies from state to state, so it's important to check with your state to determine the level of protection you would receive if you had registered the trademark with your state.

b. Ownership - by trademarking your business name you own your business. No one else can use your business name for their own business reasons, and it ensures to your customers and clients that any business by that name is yours. If you don't trademark your original name, and then you change your business name, a new company can take your original name and confuse your current clients. Ownership of the name also allows you to expand upon the name and business in the future, should you want.

c. Money - By trademarking your business name, you hold all rights to the name itself. If your company uses a name that has already been trademarked, you may be required to immediately change your business' name and give up any and all profits for the use of the trademark. This may also include damages, fines and attorneys' fees.

Trademarks for your business name will definitely be beneficial to you in the long run. It will provide protection, true ownership of the business and prevent you from having to pay a great deal of money in legal fees in the end.

Trademark a Name and Logo - Together Or Separate? by Shannon Moore

2010-09-07T05:50:00.002-07:00

Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. Registering a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to the mark within the specified industry. Of course, it's necessary to research the mark comprehensively prior to filing to ensure that there is no possibility of infringing upon another party.

Let's assume you've done your due diligence, had comprehensive research conducted and your name and logo are legally available. The next step is filing for a Federal trademark.

Now when it comes to filing, a big question is should the name and logo be filed together or separately?

This decision is going to depend on a number of circumstances, as with most things in the trademark world. Let's take some time to go through a few different scenarios:

1) Your comprehensive trademark research on the logo shows that it is legally available whereas the trademark research on the name shows a similar, not the same, name within a related, not the same, industry. Your trademark attorney may then advise you to file the name and logo together to ensure registration.

2) In showing your mark (e.g. advertising, web site, tags or labels, etc.), the logo is ALWAYS shown with the name but the name is sometimes shown without the logo. In this case, you may want to file two applications - the name and logo together AND the name alone.

3) The logo you're using is the crux of your brand and the name you're using is entirely descriptive of your goods/services. You may want to trademark your logo only OR trademark your logo alone AND trademark the name & logo together.

An important thing to keep in mind regardless of your particular situation is that whatever is filed with the USPTO is exactly how you should be using the mark. The USPTO wants to see your mark as you present it to your customers.

Shannon Moore is the General Manager for TradeMark Express. Since 1992, TradeMark Express has met the needs of their clients with comprehensive research, application preparation, attorney referrals and trademark consultation. For further details, please visit us on the web at TradeMark Express or call Shannon directly at 800.340.2010.

Writing - Copyrights and Trademarks Protect You by Marilyn Schwader

2010-09-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

When most people consider writing a book, they don't think
about Trademarks. However, I highly recommend that you
leverage your writing for multiple purposes, and that's why
registering a Trademark for your concept is a good idea. If
you use your writing as the basis for workshops and other
products, it's in your best interests to protect your
concepts with a Trademark.

To paraphrase the definition of a Trademark given at the
official web site http://www.uspto.gov/, a Trademark is a symbol, a
word, a phrase, or a design, (or any combination), used to
identify and distinguish the unique source of goods. Note
that a Service Mark has the same definition as a Trademark,
except as related to services instead of products.

You are not required to register a Mark. Instead, you can
establish your rights to the Mark with a record of
legitimate use of it. However, there are several
advantages to owning a Mark that is federally registered.
The most notable is your premier position if anyone else
should attempt to use your Mark after your official
registration date.

Regardless of whether you've made an application to the
USPTO for a federally registered Mark, you may use the TM
and SM symbols any time you claim Mark rights. However, the
federal symbol for registration (encircled "R"), may only
be used after the USPTO has received your application,
processed it, and officially registered your Mark. One more
thing to note: the federal registration symbol can only be
used in connection with the goods or services that are
specifically listed in the federal documents.

Of course, there is a difference among the purposes of
Trademarks, copyrights, and patents. Patents protect a
inventions. Copyrights protect original literary or
artistic work.

Your work is copyright protected under common law when you
create it. And by printing the work with the copyright
notification included, you have signified your claim to the
work. However, to have it officially recorded, you will
want to register it with the Copyright Office. Keep in mind
that the government does not enforce the copyright. If
someone were to infringe, it would be up to you to protect
your rights through a civil suit.

Contact the Copyright Office to get the forms. Call 202-
707-3000 and request copyright package 109, or go to the
web site, http://www.loc.gov/copyright and fill out form TX. To
register your copyright of a book, take these steps: 1)
Print the copyright notice on the copyright page (title
page). You may use the word copyright, but "C" in a circle
says the same thing and is necessary for international
protection. Also, add "All rights reserved." The notice
must appear in all copies of the book to protect you. The
copyright should be in the name of the owner. 2) Publish
the book. 3) Register your claim with the Copyright Office
within three months of the book being published.

New copyright duration is for the author's life, plus
fifty years. Since your ownership is part of your estate,
mention it in your will. Everything is protected by the
copyright, (text, graphics, etc.), except titles. Titles
can't be copyrighted. However, does the title fit the
definition of a Trademark? If so, you can claim it that
way. An example: "Chicken Soup for the Soul" is Trademarked
because it can't be copyrighted. No one actually would use
that title for their own creation, but if it weren't
Trademarked, anyone could legally profit from using the
phrase to market other products.

Cover all your bases and use the means available to
protect your creation. By registering your copyright and
your rights in a Mark, the safeguards are prepared if
someone tried to use your work as their own.

As a publisher of the "A Guide To Getting It" book series, Marilyn J. Schwader has made a study of topics related to writing. She is contributing author of articles for Acorn Writing News [http://acornwriting.com] your premier resource on-line for information on writing. Find the archive of articles at: [http://www.acornwriting.com/]

What is an Intellectual Property (IP)? by Jack Yachbes

2010-08-22T05:24:00.001-07:00

The concept of property is something we all understand. Take real estate. Property is a home, a strip mall, a commercial building or farmland. You can touch it, walk on it and live in it. Pretty simple concept. Property is something real, ergo, real estate.

An intellectual property is different. It usually begins as an idea, takes form and becomes a book, a film, a game, a TV show or something else that people read, watch, play or otherwise recognize. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) defines intellectual property this way:

"Intellectual property relates to items of information or knowledge, which can be incorporated in[to] tangible objects at the same time in an unlimited number of copies at different locations anywhere in the world. The property is not in those copies but in the information or knowledge reflected in them. Intellectual property rights are also characterized by certain limitations, such as limited duration in the case of copyright and patents."

An IP differs from real property in several key ways. An IP is the product of imagination - a very difficult thing to measure or define. An IP is more easily stolen, pirated or just plain ripped off. In fact, certain countries in the world have no intellectual property agreements across international borders so you can buy a pirated copy of the latest blockbuster on the streets of Beijing today - BEFORE it premiers in U.S. theaters.

Like a house or other property, an intellectual property can be bought and sold. It happens every day. An intellectual property can be sold lock, stock and barrel, or sold off in parts, which usually delivers increased revenue to the owner of an intellectual property.

For example, rights to a copyrighted book can be sold off in many different formats: North American distribution rights, large-print rights, one-time serial rights, sole source rights, audio-book rights, film rights - the owner of a copyright can sell various types of rights as long as the sale doesn't conflict with rights agreements already in place.

"I Have A Good Idea."

So does everyone else in the world including my Aunt Tilly. But an idea is NOT an IP. You can't copyright or trademark an idea. In fact, if some other innovator comes along with the exact, same idea as your brainstorm, there's nothing you can do about it.

An idea is NOT an intellectual property. An idea becomes an intellectual property when you apply work to it - write it, design it, describe it, code it, or otherwise put some work into that idea. And the more work you put into your idea, the more of an intellectual property you own - an IP that needs protection from theft or infringement.

That protection can take the form of a registered copyright, a patent, a license, a contract or some other defining documentation that describes the parameters of the intellectual property.

That's why it's critical to protect your idea as you give it more and more form. You can copyright a book or film. And as the copyright holder, you own that IP, whether it's a book, video game, movie, webinar, seminar or any other form of media. Without legal protection your intellectual property may be unprotected.

You know the famous smiley face - the one that's burned into all of our brains? Well, the artist who created that ubiquitous icon never registered the copyright for the image and, over time, that smiley face fell in to the public domain, which means anyone can use it. Even an IP lawyer.

It's a Jungle Out There

If you're new to the concept of IP, but you're in the process of creating one, i.e. you're writing a book, coding a computer game, building a website or broadcasting a webinar, you need protection early in the development process.

The world wide web, and all the attendant "new media," have created an insatiable demand for intellectual properties. Today, an IP - a good one - is almost like currency. It can be traded, bought and sold, used to build credibility and trust and generate revenue. And if it's really good, that IP can generate a whole lot of revenue.

However, if you don't know the consequences of selling your copyright to a publisher, if you don't understand the difference between a trademark and a signature mark, if you're unfamiliar with one-time serial rights, you may quickly discover that your IP is no longer your IP.

Intellectual property law is a complex specialty, one few attorneys practice. It involves a variety of media. It entails means of distribution, it crosses international boundaries in this global economy, it engages dealers, publishers, distributors and even rack-jobbers. And if you're engaged in the creative process, chances are you may not even be aware of the value of your IP.

Further, you may not fully understand the risks associated with intellectual properties - especially across international boundaries.

Seek Legal Advice Early

Remember, an idea is just an idea. However, once you've developed that idea and put work into it, giving the idea substance, it needs to be protected with a copyright, patent or other legal document. You own something. But without legal protection, you can very quickly lose that product of imagination forever. Or, end up in court for years battling a deep-pockets IP publisher who's in no rush to settle.

As soon as you begin shaping your idea into an IP, seek legal counsel from an experienced legal firm - a law firm that has extensive experience in IP management, IP development and, most importantly, intellectual property protection.

The earlier you obtain legal counsel during the development phase, the safer you and your IP are. Don't take chances. This is your concept, your vision, your dream.

Consult with an intellectual property lawyer and protect what's rightfully yours.

Protect your future. That IP may be the next big thing, and that would be a terrible thing to lose.

Just ask Harvey Ball. He created the Smiley Face as a freelance artist. He gave that million-dollar IP away.

Jack Yachbes is a New York City attorney who specializes in intellectual property law. He has worked with authors, game developers and other creative individuals to protect their intellectual property rights, distribution rights and other rights related to the ownership of an intellectual property. Jack can be reached at: http://www.jjylaw.com/.

Can I Register the Copyright on a Book's Title? by Daren C Cari

2010-08-22T05:23:00.000-07:00

I must tell you that titles do not fall under copyright protection under law.

HOWEVER, if you are intending your book to be the first of a series of books under this title, i.e. if you're intending to create a brand from your books, you could be able to trademark it. I'm thinking here of the kind of series of books like the "Chicken Soup" series by Mark Victor Hansen & Jack Canfield. Other series of fictional books are created and sold of course; under the Star Wars and Star Trek brands for example.

Once you establish a book series under your title, the title can acquire a secondary use as a brand for your books, effectively the trademark for your products.

In that event, you can simply use the "TM" symbol against it.

The "TM" mark indicates a trademark and, as you're probably aware, functions like the "©" copyright symbol, in that it is notice to others that this is a brand, identifiable to the product's owner, that they're using it to sell their merchandise, and others shouldn't try and pass off or sell work/merchandise using that title. It's unofficial, and while not carrying the weight of the official "®" trademark symbol you get having registered with the UK's Intellectual Property Office (which we got for our company name duly noted®), it is nevertheless universally recognised.

Once you look for it in the everyday world, you'll notice the TM mark everywhere, for titles, names and logos.

Certain popular authors' characters even have the TM symbol next to them. Clive Cussler's "Dirk Pitt" character is one name I can think of. Harry Potter to; not just as a character name, but as a brand as that name is always in the Harry Potter books titles. Spiderman creator Stan Lee trademarked and licensed his own name, and Tom Cruise won a case against a website using his name to sell unrelated goods. So it is possible you can make good use of a trademark to help you in the fight against unauthorised/unlicenced usage.

duly registered is your instant, Online Copyright Registration solution. Our service provides intellectual property owners unbiased, verifiable third party day-and-date evidence about their work to aid their case in the event their copyright is breached.

Understanding Trademark Categories by Joseph Devine

2010-08-15T05:50:00.001-07:00

The United States government provides us with the opportunity to protect our products and creative ideas with copyrights and trademarks. When you come up with an creative idea for a symbol or mark, you should consider getting a copyright for it so that you can benefit from your creativity. However, when you apply for a trademark, you should realize that there are different prerequisites that your mark must fulfill in order to get a trademark.

First, a symbol must have a certain degree of creativity before you can apply for legal protection for it. A generic description like "car" or "cereal" is a something that we use to identify an object, not just identify a particular brand of object. For example, "Apple" would not be a satisfactory trademark for a apple fruit producing company. However, when applied to computers, "Apple" is a creative way to label a business that produces computers, not fruit. Sometimes, though, a term can lose its creativity as a term becomes more commonplace, and can possibly lose its trademark.

Next, to determine if a symbol deserves a trademark, copyright courts place it into four categories: arbitrary, suggestive, descriptive, and generic. These are in the general order of creativity, with arbitrary marks being the most distinctive. As mentioned above, generic marks hardly ever receive legal protection from trademark and copyright courts.

An arbitrary mark is often called a fanciful mark because it has absolutely no relation to the product with which it is associated. This can often be the most successful type of symbol since it can become engraved in consumer's mind that a "swoosh" mark somehow embodies Nike and all of its products. Because these marks are so distinctive, they are typically given more protection than others.

Next, a suggestive mark is not directly tied into a product or company, but it somehow associates itself with the business or item. For example, the North Face company creates backpacks and jackets and other such outdoor products, and their symbol is somewhat reminiscent of a mountain. While the North Face's products aren't just for mountain climbers, the symbol conveys an idea of ruggedness and warmth for the coats.

Descriptive marks are more linked to their companies or products. Because this can walk the line between generic and actually information, descriptive marks or slogans generally must fulfill a another characteristic, secondary meaning. This means that although a phrase might be able to describe a number of different products, this symbol or slogan has come to be specifically associated with a particular company in the minds of the consumers.

Obtaining a trademark for your company can be an important part of protecting your creativity and products. If you or someone you know needs help with the legal aspect of receiving a trademark or copyright, talk to the business lawyers at Skjold - Barthel [http://skjold-barthel.com/] today.

Legal Issues Selling Or Using Stock Photos of Buildings Or Landmarks by Kathy Burns-Millyard

2010-08-15T05:49:00.001-07:00

If you are trying to break into selling your photography as stock photos, or you're a small business who has recently discovered the joy of using low cost stock photography in your print or online publications, there are a variety of legal issues you need to know about. In this article we'll address a specific area of architecture: Buildings and Landmarks.

Not many people know this, but lots of new buildings are copyrighted or trademarked these days. Technically the buildings themselves may not be, but the designs of those buildings are. And if you try to sell stock photography which includes those buildings, you can be sued by the copyright or trademark holder.

The same applies to businesses who try to use those photos for their own advertising and marketing materials. Regardless of where you got the photo - or how much you paid for it - if the original stock photographer did not get a property release, then you are using the photos illegally, and this will usually get you wrapped up in a lawsuit with large amounts of money involved.

Trademarked building designs aren't the only things to worry about though. In almost any city or town across the world, you'll find a variety of statues, monuments, and other public artwork displays... and these are usually covered by copyright protection too. In some cases, statues and monuments are considered public domain because they're a government commissioned display. In other cases however, regardless of who commissioned the work, the original artist holds the copyrights.

Thankfully stock photo agencies do a great job of not allowing photos to be placed in their database if they may violate a copyright or trademark agreement. No one is perfect however, so some things slip in and get put up for licensing even when they shouldn't be. There are many websites around which have comprehensive lists of trademarked buildings and landmarks, and some of them also list those which might be problematic but no one is certain about.

Here's a few examples of common or popular architecture which could be covered by copyright and trademark laws:

- The Eiffel Tower: Only the nighttime light display is copyrighted. Daytime photos of The Eiffel Tower are still allowed to be sold and used for commercial photography purposes.

- The Sears Tower: Photos which feature this building cannot be sold for commercial purposes. In some cases a cityscape which happens to include the tower as a small part of the photo might be acceptable.

- Various Zoos, Theme Parks, and Aquariums: Entry tickets to many of these attraction explicitly state that no commercial photography is allowed.

See Kathy's excellent stock photography at http://www.electronicperceptions.com/

©2008, Kathy Burns-Millyard

Copyrights vs Trademarks by Shannon Moore

2010-08-08T07:56:00.001-07:00

Copyrights can be obtained for things of an artistic nature. This includes, of course, poetry, films, sculptures, music, fiction, etc. But can also include things that may not necessarily seem "artistic" in the general sense of the word. Copyrights can also be obtained for advertising copy, games, software programs and blueprints, to name just a few.

There are five different types of copyright filings:

Literary Works - books, manuscripts, poetry, theses, speeches, etc.

Visual Art Works - drawings, photographs, sculptures, artwork applied to clothing, etc.

Performing Art Works - dramatic work, script, motion pictures, etc.

Sound Recordings - recordings of music, drama, lectures, etc.

Serials & Periodicals - newspapers, magazines, etc.

To protect a business name within your industry, you would apply for a trademark.

Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. Registering a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to the mark within the specified industry.

Of course, it's necessary to research the mark comprehensively prior to filing to ensure that there is no possibility of infringing upon another party.

This entails searching the pending & registered Federal and State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files. Then, if clear, you can decide if you would like to file for a Federal or a State trademark.

To register a trademark, that's done either through your Secretary of State for a State trademark or the US Patent & Trademark Office for a Federal trademark.

If you are only conducting business in one state, then a State trademark is most appropriate. If you conduct (OR are planning to conduct) business in at least 2 states OR between the US & any other country, you can file for a Federal trademark.

Shannon Moore is the General Manager for TradeMark Express. Since 1992, TradeMark Express has met the needs of their clients with comprehensive research, application preparation, attorney referrals and trademark consultation. For further details, please visit us on the web at TradeMark Express or call Shannon directly at 800.340.2010.

Does Your Domain Name Need To Be Registered As a Trademark? by Cheryl L. Hodgson, J.D.

2010-08-08T07:55:00.001-07:00

Once you register a domain name, others cannot use it as their web address. A domain is a lot like a street address or location on the Internet. However, this does not automatically mean you can register it as a trademark protected by the federal government for your products and services. Whether it can also function as a legally protectible brand that adds value to your business depends on what you choose, so choose wisely.

The answer often depends upon whether you have chosen to market your products or services under a generic or highly descriptive domain. Generic and descriptive terms are not normally protectible as a trademark. A great example is hotels.com which spent a fortune in 2007-2008 trying to convince the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and Federal Circuit that it has acquired "secondary meaning" in the domain. They failed because no matter how much they promote or market the term, it will still be generic for what the consumer finds at the site.

On the other hand, valuable brands on the Internet are not generic and descriptive. A domain such as EXPEDIA.COM® is registered and protected as a strong trademark because the owner actually provides services through the website. EXPEDIA may suggest but does not describe what is being offered at the site. Google, eBay, and Amazon are all domains turned famous trademarks because their owners not only registered the term as a domain, but chose a term that could also be distinctive for trademark purposes.

If you are going to invest money into creating and promoting a website, you should adequately protect the domain name as a trademark. It is insufficient to simply secure a domain name registration and in some cases can be fatal. One of my clients was sued by Amazon over his use of amazonnetworks.com for computer services. He innocently registered the domain and put up his site with a picture of the Amazon River. At about the same time, Amazon.com established its site and was selling only books. Because he failed to "stake out his claim" to the term for computer services by securing a federal trademark, Amazon turned into a trademark bully and sued him 10 years later. He was forced to sell for a fraction of what it was worth, as he could not afford to fight the lawsuit.

Once you have a term in a domain that qualifies as a trademark, the key requirement is that you offer goods and services for sale, not merely provide an "informational" site.

An informational site describes you and what you do or sell, but does not actually deliver services or products online. For example, an attorney was refused registration of http://www.eilberg.com/ because the site merely showcased his services.

If you provide services online through your site, the Trademark Office will grant registration. For example, the ability to sign up for courses or workshops online is a service.

Other examples of registerable websites include online banking services, online chat rooms, online retail services, real estate marketing services with virtual tours, and hosting web sites of others.

It is up to you to decide. I believe if one is going to spend the money to market and promote goods and services online, it is wise to have a term that can be protected as a trademark as well as a domain. Whatever you decide, choose based upon an understanding of the difference between the two.

http://hodgson-law.com/
http://brandaideblog.com/

Things to Consider Before Registering a Trademark Symbol by Lenny Parker

2010-08-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

Symbol or logo for company is the best method to show your company identity. There is little consideration when you want to register your symbol or logo for company.

Registering a trademark or company logos requires design search which can be performed by trademark attorney or lawyer.

A trademark lawyer should review this design search to ensure that your trademark logo is original. Your design logo should not infringe upon other trademark logos. Your trademark attorney can tell you on whether it is safe to start proceed registering the company name as a trademark or not.

Do not forget to codify all licenses in writing. Your trademark attorney or lawyer will help you. This means you should put the terms and conditions of the license in writing not only for logo but also your name, copyrighted works, and other intellectual property.

This step is important when your association lets others like members chapters, affiliated entities, or endorsed vendors use your logo. You should make a valid assignment as must an exclusive license or permission to use.

You may want to limited license for a specific use. More copyright problems arise when others claim to have appropriate permission to use all intellectual property including your logo. You may learn that a separate fee and permission is required in your logo license.

Since the trademark symbol and other contact information contained in your membership directory, mailing labels, and membership list are generally are not protected by copyright, it is essential for you to use license or other form of contractual commitment to define explicit, binding limits and conditions on the use of your logo by members, vendors and others.

Free trademark symbol or logo may be available on the Internet. But almost all free trademark logos will not reflect the unique aspects of your company.

Learn more how to register trademark and free trademark symbol in trademark opposition.

Tips to Protect Yourself Online

2010-08-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

Almost all consumer products have a warning label; if only your email inbox had one too. Delivery notices from the post office, messages from friends, and headlines for local events all look innocent enough when they arrive in email form. However, these emails can contain malicious links with a virus, causing your computer to crash. But hackers aren't just using email anymore; they are tapping into websites and Social Media platforms. How can we protect ourselves online, and on our favorite social networking sites and not become a victim of cyber crime?

University of Phoenix instructor and IT expert Jim Dearman provides the following tips.

1. Be careful on what you share: Addresses, personal information, names of your spouse or children, using your full name, all make you vulnerable to identity theft. Although popular, website such as Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are all gold mines for hackers. Check your privacy settings, and use with caution.

2. Think before your click: If you get an email from one of your contacts that seems out of character or contains a link you do not recognize, don't click.

3. Choose a strong password: Do not use a word from the dictionary. Change it by adding capital letters or numbers, and choose a password at least 8 characters in length.

4. Keep your computer up-to-date: Make regular updates, have anti spyware, and keep your virus software up-to-date.

5. Check your Social Media sites: Make sure to check your privacy settings. Sharing with friends is one thing, allowing strangers access to your site and personal information is another.

6. Secure your wireless network: Do not leave your wireless network open. Secure your connection, because hackers can access your personal information, browse your files, or even worse take over your computer.

7. Don't accept random friend requests on social sites: while the goal is to network, hackers can create fake accounts in order to access your personal information.

How to Complete a Free Trademark Search by Joanne Young

2010-07-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

Before registering a trademark, it's important to complete a trademark search. This will eliminate the risk that your trademark or brand is not already registered. When searching, it is important to consider marks that are similar to your mark as well as marks that are the same. Similar marks can have an impact on your trademark registration.

UK Trademark Search

The UK Intellectual Property Office hold online records of every trademark that they have registered. The search facility within this database which enables you to search under the following criteria:-

1. A word search
2. An image search
3. Word and Image
4. Word or Image
5. Reserved Marks

The word search can be broken down into further categories. You can search under:-

-contains word This will search all marks that contain the text that you enter (one word only)
-contains string This will search all marks that contain the text that you enter (more than one word)
-exact match This will search the exact text that you enter
-starts with This will search all marks that begin with the text that you enter

The image search is a little more complicated and contains thirty categories, then a further two option boxes of sub categories. You must first decide which category your image falls under, then categorise it further. It is also useful to use the classification part of the text if you are image searching, as this will help filter out any classes which may not be relevant to your registration.

From this search, you should be able to get a rough idea of whether your trade mark is already registered or whether or not you need to seek legal advice or support in searching or registering your mark. The UK IPO state that "this not been designed as a comprehensive trade mark search facility and should not be used to determine conclusively whether a conflicting trade mark already exists."

EU (Community) Trademark Search

The EU Trademark search facility can be completed on the OHIM registry database online. CTM-ONLINE provides ready access to information on Community trade mark (CTM) applications and registrations including online access to CTM files.

You can find the UK Trademark Database here: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tm/t-find/t-find-text.
You can find the OHIM Trademark Database here: http://oami.europa.eu/ows/rw/pages/QPLUS/databases/searchCTM.en.do.

For more information on this article, or to get a FREE no obligation UK/EU Trademark Search by a qualified Intellectual Property Lawyer or Free Legal Advice on Trademarks, contact http://www.trademarkdesignprotection.com/.

A Practical Legal Guide to iPhone Application Development by Robert P. McHale

2010-07-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

It's the iPhone Application developer's worst (and increasingly justified) fear: Spending significant time, money, and resources building an app only to have it rejected, or worse, pulled from the App Store for alleged legal violations.

Carefully navigating the legal landscape in which app development operates is therefore essential to launch and maintain a successful Application. Prudence dictates being mindful of the common legal pitfalls to iPhone application development before and during the development process - and not after - when it is oftentimes too late.

By examining the iPhone SDK Agreement, Apple's End User License Agreement, and federal copyright and trademark registration, this article provides an introductory overview of the common legal issues surrounding iPhone Application development, and the measures developers can adopt to minimize liability and maximize protection of their intellectual property rights.

The iPhone SDK Agreement
Apple's iPhone SDK Agreement imposes several significant legal requirements, the most notable of which include:

Privacy laws: Developers are required to comply with all state, federal, and international privacy laws regarding user data collection, and picture or voice capture. Accordingly, personal information collected from a user may not be disseminated without the user's consent; the unauthorized use of a user's name or likeness for gain is prohibited; and a user's voice may not be recorded absent a conspicuously displayed notice indicating that a recording is taking place.

Copyrights in music and content: Any music incorporated into your Application must be wholly owned by you or licensed to you on a fully "paid-up" basis. (Such a license should provide that the one-time, lump-sum payment is final, and that you are released from any and all further payment obligations to the Licensor, no matter how successful the Application becomes.) Further, any and all content in your Application must be owned by you, or be used by you with the owner's permission. If you are using content other than music by virtue of a license, the license should state the royalty terms, if any, resulting from any and all sales of your Application.

Objectionable content and materials: Applications may not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive, or defamatory content, or other content that Apple deems objectionable. What is "objectionable" is a matter of Apple's reasonable discretion; legal challenges to a rejection of your Application on this basis will prove difficult.

Free and open source software: Applications that include Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) must comply with all applicable FOSS licensing terms. The SDK Agreement also requires (perhaps superfluously) that your use of FOSS may not in any way infect the SDK itself.

NOTE

Due to its "viral" nature, you need to be careful when using open source code that is subject to a restrictive open source license if you want to safely incorporate it into your proprietary software. For instance, the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) require that any derivative work that incorporates GPL code must itself be subject to the GPL, thereby rendering the resulting software "open" and the source code publicly available. Not only will any trade secrets contained in any code carrying a GPL license be forcibly disclosed, others may freely copy and distribute your source code, give it away for free, or even create a competing product using your own code. The viral nature of restrictive open source licenses can have a devastating impact on your company's intellectual property assets.

End User License Agreement
Applications made available through the App Store are subject to Apple's Licensed Application End User License Agreement ("EULA"), unless the end user enters into a valid EULA with the developer.

The following provisions of Apple's EULA are of special note, and should be adopted should you use your own EULA:

Disclaimer of warranty: This provision states that the Application is being provided "as-is," without any express or implied warranties regarding the Application's quality, performance, effectiveness or reliability. In those jurisdictions where disclaimers of warranty are enforceable, such a provision protects the Licensor from potential legal claims arising from the use of the Application, as the Licensor makes no promises of any kind.

Limitation of liability: This provision protects the Licensor from liability for personal injury, loss of profits, loss of data, or other direct and indirect damages arising from the use of, or the inability to use, the Application. This provision additionally places an upper dollar limit on the total damages for which the Licensor may be liable, excluding damages for personal injury in those states where such a limitation would be unenforceable.

Copyright and Trademark Protections
Both copyright and trademark registration are relatively affordable means to protect your investment in your software.

Copyright Registration
As a matter of law, copyright protection subsists in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible means of expression. The exclusive rights of reproduction, adaptation, and distribution are conferred automatically upon the owner of a copyright as soon as his or her work is written.

Although registering an Application is not a prerequisite for copyright protection, registration does afford several distinct advantages:

Registration is required to bring an infringement suit.
Registration within five years of publication creates a presumption of validity of the copyright and the facts contained in the registration certificate. Presumptive validity can be of critical importance when seeking a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order requiring the copyright infringer to cease and desist.

Registration prior to infringement allows for the recovery of attorney fees and statutory damages. (Because actual damages are often difficult to prove, the owner of a copyright may elect to recover instead an award of statutory damages in an amount between $750 and $30,000, as the court deems just. The court may increase this amount to $150,000 for willful infringements.)

Where a computer program containing trade secret materials is being registered, the Copyright Office allows you to deposit source code with the trade secret information redacted, or to deposit a combination of source code and object code, with up to 49 percent of the source code blacked out. Where an applicant is unwilling to deposit source code (even with portions blacked out), he or she may deposit object code only, but must state in writing that the work as deposited in object code contains copyrightable authorship.

Because of the difficulty in reading object code, depositing your program in this form will generally protect any trade secrets contained in your code. However, because the Copyright Office cannot read the object code to determine if your program constitutes an original work of authorship, your program will be registered under the Copyright Office's "rule of doubt," and you will accordingly lose one of the primary benefits of registration - that is, the presumption that your copyright is valid.

PRACTICE POINT

Who owns the copyright for Applications created by an employee or independent contractor? Under the "work-for-hire" doctrine, there is a rebuttable presumption that the copyright in a work created by an employee acting within the scope of his or her employment vests in the employer, absent an agreement to the contrary. However, an independent contractor generally maintains the rights to his or her creation, unless the parties agree in writing that the work is considered one for hire. Best practice: Get it in writing!

Trademark Registration
A trademark is any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof, that identifies to consumers the source of a product, and allows trademark owner to distinguish their products from the products manufactured or sold by others.

Federal registration of your trademark confers several important advantages:

Exclusive use of the mark for particular goods and services on a nationwide basis. (Note: Without federal registration, an owner's right to use a trademark is limited to the actual geographic area of actual use of the mark.)

Access to the federal courts to enforce your rights, including double or triple damages in the event of willful infringement (which is presumed if the infringed mark was on the federal principal trademark register).

Constructive notice of trademark protection, and prima facie evidence of the registrant's ownership and exclusive right to use the mark.

Right to achieve "incontestable status" after a period of five years of continuous use, thereby reducing the ability of infringers to challenge the validity of the mark on the basis that it is not sufficiently distinctive.

In selecting a name to be trademarked, it is important to adopt a strong (or distinctive) mark, as the level of protection against infringement of a trademark varies according to the "strength" of a mark. Generally, "arbitrary" and "fanciful" marks enjoy the greatest protection, whereas "generic" marks are not registrable, and can therefore never achieve federal protection. Apple, in referring to computers, is an example of a strong (here, "arbitrary") mark because the word "apple" bears no relationship to the product or service the mark represents. On the other hand, the term computer in the software industry is irretrievably generic and would never be afforded trademark protection.

Together with copyright registration, trademark registration should be considered as an additional step to protect your intellectual property rights in any Application you develop.

PRACTICE POINT

Even if you chose not to trademark your Application, a thorough trademark search should be still conducted to avoid inadvertent infringement. A number of Applications have been removed from the App Store on the basis that they allegedly infringed a pre-existing trademark.

Conclusion
While it is impossible to predict every potential legal issue that an iPhone Application developer may confront, the most common pitfalls can certainly be avoided.

A proactive legal compliance strategy, implemented early on as part of the development and pre-development process, should be adopted to reduce legal risk and strengthen protection of your intellectual property rights in your Application.

NOTE

The information contained herein is not intended to constitute legal advice or a legal opinion as to any particular matter. The contents are intended for general information purposes only, and you are urged to consult with an attorney concerning your own situation and any specific questions you may have.

Robert McHale, Esq. is the founding Partner of R | McHale LLC, a full-service law firm whose corporate practice represents clients on a wide variety of intellectual property law matters, including copyright, trademark, licensing, and other proprietary protections.

http://www.rmchale.com/

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_P._McHale

What is the Difference - Trademark Or Copyright? How to Protect Yourself by Zach Schapel

2010-07-11T05:27:00.001-07:00

The vast majority of the content on the internet has some sort of copyright, but typically it is very hard to police if someone has taken all or a portion of your work. There are ways to officially apply for a copyright using some of the online legal document services available on this site and others. However, most people are content to put a copyright notice at the bottom of their creation and just hope that it does not get stolen or reproduced without their permission. For more extensive works such as books or large publications it would be prudent to apply for an official copyright using an online legal document service.

A trademark is available for businesses and others who want to afford some sort of extra protection to their ideas and brand name. Obviously, if some other company sprouted up and started sporting the tag-line "Just Do It(TM)", Nike would not be happy. They have invested millions and millions of dollars into creating the brand image that is associated with the tagline. Although most businesses and individuals do not need the protection that Nike can afford, there are inexpensive alternatives.

Trademarks can be acquired online through an application process that typically will total you less than $500. For more advanced users who want to have active protection on their ideas or brand, there are also services that will monitor your trademark. The trademark monitoring service basically is a periodic scan of the trademark database for possible conflicts. If someone files a trademark that could be a possible infringement on your own trademark, you would be notified. This is the point at which the client would need to move on to an actual lawyer, because the legal document service can only do so much. If the trademark infringement is determined to be valid, further legal action would be required.

Trademarks and copyrights are very important to businesses and publishers, especially when your original work or content constitutes your livelihood. Spend careful time considering how much money it is worth to protect yourself from possible thieves or plagiarism. If the business DIRECTLY relates to the original content or brand image, it would be advisable to officially apply for protection of your ideas.

Zach
http://www.docsondemand.com

Tips to Register Trademarks For Companies by Lenny Parker

2010-07-11T05:26:00.000-07:00

Typical association will always consider copyright and trademark law since it play an important role in all activities of every association. The trademark is important to do when it made to protecting your own intellectual property or avoiding the infringing of others.

There are many well informed sources to explain the details about trademark process without the involvement of lawyers. Some advanced advice and guidance of counsel is required in formulating and implementing your association's intellectual property policies.

You should know basic framework for effective policies and practices in the copyright and trademark area. Firstly, you should use copyright notices on and in connection with all creative works published by your association and trademark notices on all trademarks, service marks, and certification marks owned and used by your association.

This action can significantly enhance your intellectual property rights, including eliminating an "innocent infringement" defense

Next, you need to strengthen your trademark by register it. Your association's name, logos, slogans, certification marks, and all other important marks with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office are important items to register.

This means a lot to enhance and enforce them while federal registration of your marks is not required to obtain and maintain trademark rights. It is also essential to obtain domain name registrations for all available names you plan to use in the future and catch registrations from others if your association has superior rights to the domain name.

After you completed register your trademarks symbol, you also need to register your copyrights. This topic can be expanded if you have a large company with many products. Items that need to be registered including association's Web site, publications and all other important, original, creative works that are fixed in any print, electronic, audio-visual, or other tangible medium with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Trademark and copyright registration for companies is a very simple and inexpensive process. It is a provision to filing suit to enforce your rights and confers other valuable benefits while such registration is not required to obtain and maintain a copyright in a work.

Get another helpful advice and tips about trademark in registering a trademark.

Trademark Search! Is It Even Important? by Namratha Jain

2010-07-11T05:24:00.001-07:00

Today "Brandism" (coined to state the importance of brand name) has increased so much that, it has led to imitation and counterfeiting of goods using same brand names or similar ones to deceive or confuse the customers. Therefore protection of one's propriety in the brand name has become a necessity than a status. A Trademark search needs to be conducted before filing for protection. Trademark search is very important before registering a Trademark as it confirms the presence of any other similar trademark already in existence. This acts as a deterrent for using already existing mark.

Trademark search can be done in two ways:

* One by asking a authorized trademark agent to do the searches and give their opinion and report for the same whether the present trademark name or logo can be used or not,

* Second way is by filling in Form no 54 available from the Trademark Registry office for doing the necessary searches.

In Form no 54, a request for searches is filed before the Registrar to ascertain whether a similar mark exists or not by sending triplicate copies of the trademark to be used. The application has to also specify the class in which the goods or services come under. A direction to the Registrar is to be obtained if the relevant class for goods or services is not known. If a mark comes under multiple classes then for each class a separate Form has to be filled. This can be done paying a prescribed fee of Rs. 500 for every trademark name to be searched.

The form can be submitted at any of the Trademark registry office in India, but it is advisable to submit the form in ones respective zone itself. For e.g. if the applicant is residing in Bangalore and wants to get searches done then Chennai Trademark registry would be appropriate place for submitting than Delhi, Kolkatta, Mumbai or Ahmedabad.

ONLINE TRADEMARK SEARCH

With the recent transformation in Indian IPR system (Thanks to Mr. P.S.Kurian) today a trademark search can be conducted online by paying a fee of Rs 400 through Axis Bank or SBI only, towards the Trademarks Registry office. Once paid a user id and password is given and one can log onto the Trademark website http://www.patentoffice.nic.in/ and start the necessary searches. A similar or phonetically similar word or device can be searched in the website. The class under which the word comes has to be mentioned before starting the searches. Hence, it is advisable to know before hand under which class the goods or services fall under as the search time is only for limited period, thereafter one is automatically logged out.

With these searches one can definitely be sure that they are not and will not infringe any other registered Trademark.

Namratha Jain
IP Attorney, of Intepat IP Services. (http://www.intepat.com), A leading IP consulting firm in India.

Trademark - Do I Need One For My Business Name and Logo? by Wendy Maynard

2010-07-04T05:57:00.001-07:00

Wondering if a trademark is important to you as a business owner? Let's start with the basics. A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or logo that distinguishes and identifies the source of goods of one company or person from another. For example, the name Kraft is trademarked, as is Nike's "swoosh" logo.

The list of what constitutes a trademark is long. A trademark can also be granted to unique packaging such as the shape of Coca-cola's bottle, building designs, color, sound, and even fragrance. Service marks receive the same legal protection, but are used to distinguish services instead of products.

Your business can acquire trade or service marks through the consistent use of a mark. The symbols TM and SM demonstrate the owner treats the mark as a trademark or service mark. There is no requirement to federally register at the trademark office. You are still protected under intellectual property laws. However, if another party uses your mark it can be more difficult to prove your ownership.

To register online with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), go to www.uspto.gov There is a registration fee for each name, logo, and slogan. Federal registration ensures another party is not already using your mark. A registered trademark gives you exclusive rights to use a mark with your particular goods or services. The USPTO can only register trademarks for marks that are used across state lines. A website customers can access in other areas can satisfy this requirement. Otherwise, you will only be able to apply for a state trademark.

Only a mark registered and approved by the USPTO can use the ® symbol. Since the application process can take many months to complete, use the TM or SM symbol in the meantime to establish your intention to use the mark as a trademark. Make sure you keep records as to when your mark was first used in commerce and regulate the use of your mark in the marketplace.

Wendy Maynard is a founding partner at Kinesis, Inc. - a marketing and design firm based in Portland Oregon. We specialize in logos, web site design, branding, graphic design, SEO, marketing, and social media. Our clients benefit from out experience at creating marketing materials that help them increase their business revenues. View our portfolio at http://www.kinesisinc.com/

Trademark Infringement Issues For Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertisers by

2010-07-04T05:56:00.000-07:00

Yahoo has just announced they will no longer allow PPC advertisers to advertise or bid on trademarked terms.

Could this be a trend of things to come from the other major search players?

MSN's new adCenter (still in beta) states you are not allowed to infringe trademarks within their editorial guidelines (see policy below).

However, Google still maintains a strong stance in allowing advertisers to bid on trademarked search terms as long as the trademarked term is not used within the advertiser's ad-copy.

Numbers to Consider

Next to click fraud, trademark violations are the second largest concern to Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising. Out of the total number of searches online, 20% are trademark searches. Meaning, company owned trademarks such as "Pontiac", account for 20% of all search traffic. While 1 in 5 searches for trademark terms may seem high, most conversions do not originate from trademarked terms. A study by comScore and Yahoo Search Marketing (Overture) found most buyers do not search by manufacturer or product name. Rather, buyers use broad search terms that do not include a manufacturer's name. Broad search terms account for 70% of total searches and 60% of total conversions.

Search Engine's Policy on PPC Trademark Bidding

Yahoo on Trademarks:

"On March 1, 2006, Yahoo! Search Marketing will modify its editorial
guidelines regarding the use of keywords containing trademarks.
Previously, we allowed competitive advertising by allowing advertisers
to bid on third-party trademarks if those advertisers offered detailed
comparative information about the trademark owners' products or
services in comparison to the competitive products and services
that were offered or promoted on the advertisers' site.

In order to more easily deliver quality user experiences when
users search on terms that are trademarks, Yahoo! Search Marketing
has determined that we will no longer allow bidding on keywords
containing competitor trademarks."

MSN AdCenter on Trademarks

"Microsoft requires all advertisers to agree that they will not bid on keywords, or use in the text of their advertisements, any word whose use would infringe the trademark of any third party or would otherwise be unlawful or in violation of the rights of any third party".

Google Adwords on Trademarks:

"Google takes allegations of trademark infringement very seriously and, as a courtesy, we're happy to investigate matters raised by trademark owners. Also, our Terms and Conditions with advertisers prohibit intellectual property infringement by advertisers and make it clear that advertisers are responsible for the keywords they choose to generate advertisements and the text that they choose to use in those advertisements."

Solution or More Problems

With all Engines moving toward a TM standard, it would have many benefits to both advertisers and searchers. This standard would be good for marketers who would have to be more creative in their copy creation creating increased demand for qualified marketers which would translate into higher fees. Search Engines hosting the ads would maintain revenue levels, but online public relations firms may lose as they would not be required to police search engines for their clients with trademarks. Lastly, the mark owner would continue to be protected and user experience would not be affected.

Case Study:

I'm currently working with an AdWords client in a circumstance where their competitors are bidding on their trademarked search terms. Aside from the constant policing and reporting for trademark violations used in the ads themselves, adspend to secure top positions for their ads has skyrocketed from an initial $2.00 per click to $15.00 per click. Additionally, monthly spend has increased from $1,200 to nearly $30,000.

I have to go back to my client with an estimated budget of $500,000 for the rest of this year to control the space for their own branded trademarked term. I am reluctant to do that as it doesn't make sense with the announcement from Yahoo on their new trademark policy. Given the level of aggression by the competitors and the extortionate cost now been borne by my client there is only one solution and that is to stop all advertisers from bidding on the terms. In my opinion, it is simply not right that a business owner has to spend $500,000+ to buy their own branded term that has already cost them millions of dollars to build. This is $500,000+ in revenue for Google which is being generated by a policy that is beyond elementary business terms. Yahoo and MSN have recognized the injustice of this policy and have taken steps to change it.

If we cannot treat this policy on a case by case basis, then I have no alternative than to advise my client that we cannot help them any further and their only option is to resort to legal action against Google.

Google also advises that you take the matter up with individual advertisers which in many cases are impossible with private registrations and foreign companies. You could add to your high costs dramatically to have to send cease desists to all infringers. Many will ignore you.

The classic bait and switch does not seem to apply to the Internet. Many companies are okay with their terms being bought for comparison shopping and by re-sellers. The solution here is for those companies to give permission to Google to allow their re-sellers to purchase the name. With the strength and sophistication of Google's technology how difficult can this be? I doubt it is any more cumbersome than filtering search results for China.

Your Defense Against Trademark Violations

Website companies where the majority of their revenue is generated through online sales depend heavily on search engines to generate traffic to their website. In order to defend against trademark infringements you will need to conduct search audits at least once every month. You not only need to look over organic search results, but also paid search results or PPC contextual ads. You should look through the top 30 results of the search listings.

For organic search engine results you should look at both the questionable result and the site displayed in the result. When looking over the possible violator's site, don't just look over the visible content on the site; look over the code as well to uncover hidden text, image alt tags and keyword meta tags that may include your trademarked names.

Then document your findings. For search engine results and PPC results use a "screen capture" of the page displaying the mark infringement. For mark infringements that are visible on a website, save the entire page's code as a .txt file.

What about if you are you seeing an infringement in organic search results, but when you click on the page, there is no infringement? They may be using a cloaked page which includes your trademark. To check this out you will need to view the search engine's cached page on file. Make sure to save a copy of this code as well.

You will need to document your findings properly by dating the violation as well as the site owner's complete contact information. Use http://www.dnsstuff.com to get the whois information for the site. Once you have all of this documented you will need to send your findings to the appropriate search engine.

You may also want to take the legal route, in which case you should keep a record of all your documentation to present to your legal counsel.

The best way to gather evidence is to hire a third party to collect evidence against the infringer of your trademark or copyrighted material. Recently at Search Engine Strategies in New York City during February of 2006, Deborah Wilcox, Partner of Baker & Hostetler LLP who specializes in trademark and copyright areas of law said, "Use a third party to make print outs and audit the search results. If the case goes to court you will need hard evidence for the judge."

Contact the Search Engines

You can also contact the search engines directly if you believe an advertiser is infringing on your trademark. The respective search engine contact information is below.

Google

Google Inc.

Attn: Google AdWords, Trademark Complaints

2400 Bayshore Parkway

Mountain View, CA 94043

Yahoo! Search Marketing

Formerly: Overture Services, Inc.

Attn: Business & Legal Affairs - Trademarks

74 N. Pasadena Ave., 3rd Floor

Pasadena, California 91103

Fax: 626 685-5601

Microsoft Corporation

Attn: MSN Search Trademark Concerns

One Microsoft Way

Redmond, WA 98052

USA

Trademark Infringement Resources

International Trademark Association

American Patent & Trademark Law Center

Internet patent, copyright, trademark, and legal issues

Trademarks on the Internet

Bill Younger writes for Elixir Systems, a full service search engine marketing company specializing in organic search engine optimization services, online public relations management and paid search or PPC management. For more information visit http://www.elixirsystems.com/

Scammers Have Destroyed the Internet

2010-07-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

Reuters reports that online scams cost individuals and businesses more than $500 million in losses in 2009, doubling 2007's figures. Scams have permeated the Internet from search results that feature malware-loading attack sites to phishing emails to even fake dating correspondence. Online fraud has so jeopardized trust in common Internet communication channels, that it can be credibly said that scammers have destroyed the Internet.

Previously trusted communications like bank email and other "official" notices can no longer be trusted.

Greed-based scams focus on "something for nothing." Nigerian "419" emails, "free iPod/iPad" redemption notices, and similar fraud fall under this heading.

"Today's online scammer is very sophisticated. They really know how to push the intended victim's psychological buttons. Indeed, one of the fastest growing "genres" of online scams, dating scams, exploit one of the most basic human needs--the need for love. You won't believe the emotional manipulation unscrupulous dating site affiliates will stoop to", says Thompson.

Posing as women, unethical dating site marketers, based on litigation records, use email, classified ads, chatrooms, and even webcams to snare unsuspecting victims. According to Thompson, it's gotten so bad that people looking for dates online must be extra suspicious of online personal ads to make sure they are genuine and not out to upsell them to a dating site subscription. Phishing and identity theft schemes are rampant and constantly evolving. From bank "notification" emails to domain registration emails to account notification to email attachments that load attack sites, phishing attacks have taken on a huge variety of forms that it is easy to get tricked into opening these types of emails or search results.

Source: Website: http://www.ixdownload.com

Protecting Your Custom Company Logo Design's Copyright by Kat Delacruz

2010-06-27T10:15:00.001-07:00

You would definitely not want to loose your business to someone else who has conveniently copied your logo to use as their own. Safeguarding your logo from plagiarism or trademark infringement is one of the most vital steps that you can take to protect your brand identity. People commonly confuse copyright protection and trademark protection as the same thing. Though both of these protect your brand identity, copyright protects the logo and trademark defends the logo, brand name or slogan as used in the marketplace.

This article would elaborate on protecting your customer company logo design's copyright. For protecting your logo you need to know about how to protect it?

According to US copyright office "Copyright protection may be available for logo artwork that contains sufficient authorship." This means that following type of logos cannot be protected by copyright laws:

Commonly used symbols or designs such as Latin cross, peace signs or arrows
Logos containing texts that only have mere variations in fonts, lettering, colors for example text in times new roman or text in a red.

The term "Sufficient authorship" means that the logo should have a certain degree of creativity and innovativeness attached to it. If your business is using a logo picked out from an online free to use source or MS word clipart directory, your logo would not be eligible for copyright protection.
Following are the steps that you must take to ensure the copyright protection for your logo:

Properly mark your work as copyrighted: To avoid any ignorant mistakes on the part of others mark your logo as copyrighted. This will forewarn people about consequences of deliberate copying.

Register your company's logo: Register your company's logo or any such artwork or promotional material that you want to protect against infringement with the country's copyright services. Registration can be made even before the launch of the company. This process is very simple and entails filling up few forms.

Backup your claim with sufficient evidence: The application for registration of copyrighting the company logo should be backed up evidences that talks about how the work for designing the logo progressed? Who was the author of the work? What is it in the logo that makes it unique?

In case of Joint ventures: If your company is a joint venture, agree in advance to who will inherit the logo if one partner leaves the company.

Plagiarism has become a very serious threat to the creativity , copyrighting your logo is a must from every angle to safeguard your brand identity. Delay in taking these steps can cost you all your efforts of establishing a brand identity.

Katt DelaCruz is a contributing writer and intern at [MN]interactive.com. [MN]interactive.com is a web design and creative design studio based out of Miami, Florida USA. If you need assistance with logo development or need web development [MN]interactive.com will exceed your expectations an assure you results.

Domain Names : How To Protect Intellectual Property

2010-06-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

Wіth ongoing controversies concerning music downloads, pirated movies аnԁ plagiarized fiction always mаkіnɡ thе news, thе phrase “intellectual property” іѕ heard οn аƖmοѕt a daily basis. Bυt bесаυѕе іt covers such a variety οf creative products, thе average person іѕ hard pressed tο articulate thе differences between patents, trademarks аnԁ copyrights. Fortunately, thеrе аrе a number οf highly trained intellectual property attorneys whο аrе well-versed іn thіѕ arm οf thе law аnԁ whο саn hеƖр protect clients іn one οf thе more complicated segments οf legal practice.

Fοr example, nеw domain names аrе registered еνеrу day, аnԁ many people assume thаt thе simple act οf registration confers copyright protection οf thе name. Thе fact іѕ, although thе content οf thе web site саn bе copyrighted, thе name саnnοt. Again, thіѕ іѕ one οf thе aforementioned complications thаt demand expert attention; although thеrе іѕ a registry οf domain names thаt carries ѕοmе protection against theft, future problems саn bе averted through consultation wіth a specialist whο саn steer a litigant through thе confusing maze οf I.P. law.

Eνеrу form οf intellectual property іѕ covered bу ѕοmе organization, association, union οr similar regulatory body thаt promotes аnԁ protects thе products οf creativity, whether a piece οf writing, music οr art, οr аn invention, pharmaceutical compound οr mechanical process. Bесаυѕе thеrе аrе literally thousands οf laws thаt address thеѕе matters, more аnԁ more professionals аrе specializing іn I.P. law, necessitating extensive knowledge οf both national аnԁ international legalities.

Fοr example, ѕіnсе thе Federal Government runs thе U.S. Patent аnԁ Trademark Office under аn article οf thе Constitution, аn I.P. attorney mυѕt bе fully familiar wіth federal statutes. Similarly, international agencies such аѕ Interpol аnԁ thе World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) require a knowledge οf international laws аnԁ regulations. Amοnɡ οthеr crimes, thе upsurge οf overseas pirating enterprises hаѕ led tο a corresponding increase іn I.P. lawsuits filed bу U.S. attorneys.

Aѕ аn aside, іt wаѕ WIPO thаt first coined thе term “intellectual property”, causing a сеrtаіn amount οf consternation аmοnɡ legal scholars. Those whο oppose thе term ѕау thаt a comparison οf physical objects аnԁ creative product іѕ misleading. Thеу argue thаt thе phrase itself causes legislators tο align laws wіth thе concept thаt stealing аn іԁеа іѕ thе same аѕ thе theft οf physical property, whісh іѕ far frοm thе case.

In view οf thе fact thаt even experts аrе unable tο agree οn thе parameters οf intellectual property law, іt seems obvious thаt anyone whο seeks protection οf hіѕ creative output ѕhουƖԁ seek thе services οf one οf thе many attorneys whο specializes іn thіѕ area οf thе law.

Abουt thе Author:
Stephen Daniels іѕ аn acclaimed NetBiz SEO 2.0 researcher. Fοr professional intellectual property attorneys іn Nеw York, hе recommends Baker аnԁ Rannells, PA. Wіth more thаn 63 years οf experience, thеіr work both іn thе U.S. аnԁ internationally hаѕ hеƖреԁ guide thеіr courteous, hοnеѕt services fοr businesses οf аnу size.

Introduction on Copyright and Trademark by Michael Baker

2010-06-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

Each person who creates something that has artistic or literal value must protect it, using the copyright system. The copyright system ensures that a certain artistic work has legal rights. Examples of artistic works are photographs, paintings, drawings, or everything that is visual; other examples include music or choreography, and even computer programs or different designs.

People's creativity can be protected with the use of copyright. Copyright ensures that your work is recognized and sometimes it can bring you different financial rewards. People who have created artistic work will be sure that copyright will protect them if their work is copied, distributed or used without their permission. Also, another important aspect of copyright is that it will improve culture quality, entertainment and artistic knowledge all over the globe.

Everybody who creates something knows how much time and financial investment it needs. Also, a creation can only be made public through distribution and with the help of the media. Media means any form of publication, recordings, films, etc. Some people use the royalties system; it means that they will sell their work to a company that can use its marketing to obtain profits by selling their products.

All economic rights that are given to specific companies last fifty years after the death of the inventor, this fact is stated in the WIPO(World Intellectual Property Organization). But if someone needs a longer period, it is possible if that is established by the national law. This law assures that inventors and their relatives will benefit from their creation over a certain amount of time. This copyright protection also ensures moral rights; inventors will claim their authorship and will have the right to oppose any changes that can ruin their reputation.

Each country has its own national legislation, which gives the copyright and other rights to people. International treaties may have some of the national laws applied to make sure that there is no discrimination when granting rights to the creators. If you need more information about this, you should check the National Copyright Administration or CLEA (Collection of Laws For Electronic Access).

The organization named WIPO has administrated many laws and treaties which have connection with the intellectual property rights, government assistance, and any type of requests. They also give advice to people or different non governmental organizations. However, you should consult a copyright lawyer if you want more information.

Even before official procedures were introduced copyrights existed. In the Berne Convention it is stated that artistic works are protected without any official procedures, and they are protected now if the country recognizes and uses this convention.

WIPO has no system for copyright registration; this can be done in copyright offices in each country. Every country has laws which protect artistic works. Copyright is useful when making a difference between two works, or it may be used in courts when copyright disputes happen.

Trademarks are words, names and symbols that are used as a signature for a company or business in order to make sure that people recognize their products. The brand name is the one who defines a trademark.

Although trademark registration has not been made necessary by the government, there are some advantages that people can obtain when registering their trademark. If you want to have an international registration for your trademark you must first register it locally. The advantages of having your trademark registered are constituted by the rights you are given. Also, people should know that copyright and trademarks are different because it helps them with various legal issues.

Your Trademark Law explains everything you need to know about trademarks, copyrights, and patents. It is your personal reference to protecting your business.

The Basics of Trademarks - What is a Trademark? by Henry Boezi

2010-06-20T06:07:00.002-07:00

Trademarks and the concept of trademark protection have been in existence for literally thousands of years dating back to the days of the Roman Empire when blacksmiths would emblazon swords that they had crafted with a distinctive symbol. The trademark was affixed to the finished product to identify the originating craftsman or shop.

Trademarks have come a long way since that time and can now consist of nearly any type of identifying feature that signifies or identifies the person or company that created, sells or markets a particular product or service.

Trademarks can consist of any single or combination of identifying features including but not limited to the following:

Names
Words
Phrases
Logos
Symbols
Colors
Scents
Designs
Images

A trademark not only serves to identify the producer or seller of a particular product or service but also serves to differentiate the item from similar products produced by a competitor. Trademarks can be owned by individuals, businesses or any other legal entity and are considered to be Intellectual Property. They also may be sold, leased or licensed to outside parties but also must be "active" to be considered protected.

Trademark protection applies to both registered and unregistered symbols, logos, designs, etc. For instance, if a company has sold a product under a distinctive brand name for a period of time without registering that name with either a national or state trademark office may still be afforded trademark protection for that name and may seek and be awarded damages for any infringement.

Disclaimer

This article is intended for informational purposes only. It should not be construed as legal advice and readers are encouraged to consult a qualified attorney regarding these matters.

Henry V. Boezi, III has been practicing law for over 25 years and specializes in Copyright, Trademark, Patent and Intellectual Property Law. Henry holds both J.D. and M.I.P. (Masters of Intellectual Property) degrees. He also received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering which affords him a unique background in these areas of legal practice. Henry can be reached at HVBoeziIII@aol.com or at his web site, http://www.HVBIIIlaw.com.

Copyright and Plagiarism - What's the Deal and Are They the Same? by Harold Baldwin

2010-06-20T06:07:00.000-07:00

Any recorded work of expression is automatically protected by copyright, meaning you own the rights to it. If you write a letter to your mother, it is automatically copyrighted. So is video, audio, sculptures, paintings, almost anything that is recorded. You'll often see the copyright symbol or the word "copyright" with a date and the person or organization that holds the copyright on the copyrighted work, for example on every page of a book or document. This is to avoid "innocent infringement," so that it is clear that it is copyrighted.

You can also file for a formal copyright with the government, and this gives you additional legal rights. Basically this makes it easier to sue for copyright infringement and increases the penalties. Copyright infringement is illegal. Copyrights do expire, and many things have expired copyrights, for example the Magna Carta.

Plagiarism on the other hand is not illegal, although most people consider it immoral and it will get you expelled or at least in a lot of trouble at educational institutions. Plagiarism is claiming someone else's work as your own.

Often plagiarism and copyright violation are the same. If for example you find something on the Internet and use it or large portions of it in a paper you claim you wrote, that is typically plagiarism and copyright violation. If however you hire someone to write a term paper for you, that is a work for hire and you typically own the copyright. However if you claim you wrote it yourself, that is plagiarism. Another example of something that is plagiarism but not copyright violation is if you claim something that the copyright has expired on is your own work.

Although copyright violation is against the law, there is a fair use provision. You can use small parts of copyrighted works in your works as long as you give proper credit. For example it is common to quote other people and other books or papers.

It is possible to give up or loosen the rights on copyrighted works. One example is called copyleft and another is a Creative commons license from CreativeCommons.org. For example, I wrote an ebook called "Effective Internet Presence" and wanted it to be spread as far and wide as possible, so I gave it a Creative Common license which allowed people to freely copy and distribute it as long as they left it intact, meaning they didn't modify it.

Harry writes on many topics like Intellectual Property, health, food, and wine. See his latest at best wine opener and houdini wine opener.

The Basics of Copyrights - What Can Be Protected by Henry Boezi

2010-06-13T06:04:00.001-07:00

Whether it is due to the overwhelming opportunities available for publication in this internet age or a surge in American creativity, the practice of Intellectual Property Law has never been stronger, or of more importance. So for the upstart writer, photographer, musician, etc., the first question is what can be covered by a copyright?

The easiest answer is specific works of the following which are "original":

Literature
Poetry
Music
Choreography
Photography
Motion Pictures
Cartoons
Graphic Arts/Sculpture
Dramatic Works
Architectural Works

...or any other similar "finished" product that is the creative and original work of the applying author. An example of a "finished" work would be a script for a screenplay which can be covered by copyright protection while a concept or "treatment" for one can not be covered.

Also, compilations or arrangements of non-copyrightable materials can be copyright protected if the arrangement or compilation is deemed to be both original and creative. For example various maps, forms, tables, calendars and directories are very often in and of themselves not eligible for copyright protection. However, a compilation of these types of materials that is deemed to be original and creative can be afforded copyright protection. Say a person wanted to create a visitors guide to Providence, RI. The maps, tables, restaurant names, bus schedules, etc would not be eligible for copyright protection individually. But as a creative and original compilation or "arrangement" of these materials this guide could qualify for protection under the US Copyright Act.

For specific answers to your questions regarding copyrights and intellectual property law, you are encouraged to consult a qualified attorney who specializes in this area of practice.

Henry V. Boezi, III has been practicing law for over 25 years and specializes in Copyright, Trademark, Patent and Intellectual Property Law. Henry holds both J.D. and M.I.P. (Masters of Intellectual Property) degrees. He also received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering which affords him a unique background in these areas of legal practice. Henry can be reached at HVBoeziIII@aol.com or at his web site, http://www.HVBIIIlaw.com

A Brief Look at Copyright by Rob E Bishop

2010-06-13T06:03:00.001-07:00

When you're an artist or inventor, ideas are your greatest assets. When you realized your plush toy could be a successful product, maybe even a blockbuster, you probably began to worry that someone else-your cousin Bob, that guy in your carpool, some stranger looking over your shoulder at the coffee shop-might steal it and get it to market first. Now that you're entering the design and fabrication process, you need assurance that your idea is protected. This is the purpose of copyright.

What is Copyright Law?

The US Constitution gives Congress the right to "promote the Progress of Science and Useful Arts, by securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries [sic]". Copyright law protects the intellectual property rights of artists, writers, musicians, inventors, and others from infringement. Because you are the inventor of your plush toy, you alone have the right to produce, sell, and display it (or variations), and to transfer ownership of that right.

Copyright law specifies the idea must be in "fixed form": that is, written, sketched, or constructed in some way. As soon as you wrote down your idea for a plush toy, or made those first drawings, you owned the copyright for that toy, even though it had not yet been manufactured. If another partner contributed to the toy, you are joint copyright holders. Current law grants copyright for the creator's lifetime, plus 70 years; it is treated as personal property in your will.

Recording Your Copyright

Your work is copyrighted as soon as you "fix" it by writing, sketching, or constructing it. Until it is published, you don't have to register it. A registered copyright, however, is important should you bring suit against someone for infringement. If you obtain your registration before or within five years of your plush toy's creation, registration will provide prima facie (authentic) evidence in court. If you register your material within three months after it is published (or manufactured), you can collect statutory damages and attorney fees in an infringement suit; otherwise, you can only receive actual damages and profits.

Record your copyright by filling out the appropriate form (available online), paying the non-refundable filing fee, and, in some cases, sending a "deposit," or copy of your material. In the case of a plush toy, the copyright office and the Library of Congress do not require the deposit. Your copyright is valid as soon as your application and fee are received; your certificate arrives by USPS. You do not need a lawyer, and the filing fee is affordable. The so-called "poor man's copyright," or mailing yourself a copy of your material, does not legally replace registration.

How Your Toy Manufacturer Can Help

Your toy manufacturer has plenty of experience in helping its clients obtain copyright protection for their plush toys. You will be provided with copies of designs and documentation of your toy's progress. If you purchase the Ultimate Design package, we will help with your copyright application. It's your great idea! Protect your plush toy with a registered copyright!

Rob E Bishop invites you to bring your stuffed toy invention idea to his website at http://www.CustomPlushToys.com where you can learn how to design, create and sell your own stuffed toy idea. Download his free report "Don't Get Ripped Off" to discover the secrets of how to navigate the dangers in making your toy idea successful. Click Here

Patent - Do You Need A Patent, Copyright or Trademark? by Oze Parrot

2010-06-13T06:02:00.000-07:00

Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks are confusing to some extent, even though there are some similarities among these tools of property protection, they all serve different purposes.

A Patent for an invention is the inventor's property right to his invention, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. The term of a new Patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the Patent was filed in the United States.
US Patent grants are effective only within the US, US territories, and US territorial possessions.

A Patent owner is granted the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the said invention without permission.

A Trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in the trading of goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of other manufacturers.
A service mark is the same as a Trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product.
The terms "Trademark" and "Mark" are commonly used to refer to both Trademarks and service marks.

Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark.

Copyright is a form of protection that is granted to the authors of "original works of authorship" including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished.

The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the Copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phono records of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the Copyrighted work publicly.

The Copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be Copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Copyrights are registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.

It follows therefore, that if you have invented, what you consider to be a new invention, then you must take out a Patent to protect your product from being unscrupulously copied by your competitors.

It is advisable to conduct a search of the Office of Records before filing an application for Patent, Copyright or Trademark?

You can conduct a free search on the USPTO website using the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) at: TESS

You can also conduct a trademark search at the Trademark Public Search Library. Use of the Public Search Library is free to the public.

You can also conduct a search at a Patent and Trademark Depository Library near you.

Any literary, musical or artistic works that you have composed or conceived should also be protected by copyright in the same manner.

If you have produced your own Trademark to identify your works this must also be registered to protect your interests.

Registration can be effected at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Further details can be found on the USPTO site: http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm

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How Do I Trademark a Slogan? by Shannon Moore

2010-06-06T05:52:00.000-07:00

First, it's not possible to copyright a slogan.

Copyrights can be obtained for things of an artistic nature. This includes, of course, poetry, films, sculptures, music, fiction, etc. But can also include things that may not necessarily seem "artistic" in the general sense of the word. Copyrights can also be obtained for advertising copy, games, software programs and blueprints, to name just a few.

It may be possible to file for a trademark for the slogan as long as it's used to indicate & identify the source of goods/services.

If we're talking about a merely informational slogan or a slogan that conveys advertising information, it's not eligible for trademark registration.

Let's take a look at what the USPTO says (and then what that actually means):

"Slogan or phrases used on items such as t-shirts...have been refused registration as ornamentation that purchasers will perceive as conveying a message rather than indicating source of the goods."

What that essentially means is that if your slogan is merely displayed on the goods themselves and is NOT identified as the source, then the USPTO will likely refuse registration. This is a tricky, gray area so seek advice should you have a slogan that you intend to use for products.

"Use of a...slogan to convey advertising or promotional information...is not service mark use."

The concept is similar to that for goods as described above. Basically, if your slogan describes your service and/or serves as advertising copy, it's not likely eligible for trademark registration. Again, this is a tricky, gray area so seek advice should you have a slogan that you intend to use for services.

After reading this it may seem impossible for any slogan to qualify for trademark protection but really that is not the case. It's all in how the slogan is used & presented. For example, both Nike's ® slogan Just Do It ® and McDonald's ® slogan I'm Lovin' It ® are Federally registered trademarks.

Shannon Moore is the General Manager for TradeMark Express. Since 1992, TradeMark Express has met the needs of their clients with comprehensive research, application preparation, attorney referrals and trademark consultation. For further details, please visit us on the web at TradeMark Express

The Basics of Copyrights - Registration and Duration by Henry Boezi

2010-06-06T05:51:00.001-07:00

Although many types of "creative" and "original" Works are deemed to have copyright protection from the moment that the Work is created and "fixed in any tangible place", in order for the owner of the copyright to receive greater rights and increase his or her ability to protect those rights the Work should be registered.

The United States Copyright Office is a division of the United States Department of Commerce. Registering with this office will greatly enhance the copyright owner's ability to seek various types of damages if the copyright has been infringed upon by an outside party. One should seek legal advice before applying for registering a copyrighted Work, as it should be determined whether the Work is copyrightable, i.e. the type of Work for which a registration can be obtained. Simply applying to register a copyright does not necessarily mean that the work in question is copyrightable.

The duration of copyrights varies from what type of work is in question as well as when it was created or registered. A work that was created on or after January 1, 1978 is protected from the time it is created, usually for the author's life plus 70 years after the author's death. For "a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not work for hire," the term is for 70 years after the death of last surviving author.

The copyright term for works created and published or registered before January 1, 1978 is the same as for those created on or after January 1, 1978, namely, life of the author plus 70 years. The 95/120-year terms for works for hire apply to pre January 1, 1978 to these works also. However, the term of copyright for these works cannot expire before December 31, 2002. For works published on or before December 31, 2002, the term will not expire before December 31, 2047.

A "work made for hire" is one prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment or a work specially ordered or commissioned for certain types of use use such as a contribution to a collective work, a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, a translation, a supplementary work, a compilation or an instructional text if the parties agree in writing instrument that the work will be considered a work made for hire.

The copyright term for works made for hire and anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the author's identity is revealed in Copyright Office records) is either 95 years from the date of publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever is shorter.

As with all areas of Copyright and Intellectual Property Law, it is advisable to consult with an attorney that specializes in this area. A number of law schools offer what is known as a Masters of Intellectual Property degree and the advice of an attorney with this level of scholarship can be essential from the moment a work is created all the way through the enforcement or recovery of any infringement.

This article is intended for informational purposes only. It should not be construed as legal advice and readers are encouraged to consult a qualified attorney regarding these matters.

Henry V. Boezi, III has been practicing law for over 25 years and specializes in Copyright, Trademark, Patent and Intellectual Property Law. Henry holds both J.D. and M.I.P. (Masters of Intellectual Property) degrees. He also received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering which affords him a unique background in these areas of legal practice. Henry can be reached at HVBoeziIII@aol.com or at his web site, http://www.hvbiiilaw.com/

Lack of Support for the Remuneration of Creators Through Collective Licensing

2010-06-06T05:49:00.001-07:00

On behalf of creators and publishers Access Copyright is deeply concerned by the extension of fair dealing to cover education and the introduction of numerous other exceptions in the Copyright Act which undermine the ability of creators and publishers to get paid for the use of their works.

"It is discouraging to creators and publishers to see that instead of encouraging the use of collective management the Government has chosen to restrict or remove existing uses from collective management in favour of exceptions that do not provide compensation to creators or copyright owners when their works are used," says Access Copyright's Executive Director, Maureen Cavan.

Collective licensing is an efficient system that provides users access to copyright protected works while ensuring that creators and rights holders are properly compensated for the use of their works.

"We will require several days to analyze the details of this new bill, but our initial reading leaves us deeply troubled." added Cavan.

Access Copyright, The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, is a not-for-profit organization founded by Canadian creators and publishers to meet the needs of users of copyright protected works, while ensuring fair compensation for that use. Access Copyright represents nearly 9,000 Canadian writers and publishers. Access Copyright works with organizations in all sectors to help them operate legally by providing access to licences that allow for the legitimate use of published copyright protected materials. To learn more about copyright or Access Copyright visit us online at http://www.accesscopyright.ca/.

Card Making and Copyright Laws by Michelle Anne Leah Custodio

2010-05-30T04:38:00.001-07:00

Everyone does not want anything stolen from them. Be it money or any property that a person owns, it is given care and protection to make sure that it stays in good and condition and will not be lost or stolen. But material items are not the only things that can be stolen. Ideas and concepts, like an artistic work, can also be stolen from somebody. It can be in the form of a book, song, movie, painting or designs used in card making.

When one uses another person's concept and claims that he made it himself, that is violation of the copyright laws. Copyright laws grants exclusive rights of the artistic work to its creator and no one has the right to use it without the permission of the person who created it. These laws are a significant part of making artistic people earn good money from selling their intellectual property.

In card making, the same principle applies. If you had made an original design, meaning it is a product of your own creative thinking, you can seek copyright protection to make sure that no one else will claim it as theirs. Or if you wrote an original poem for a particular card, it should also be protected under the copyright laws.

Although this copyright law may seem trivial and not important compared to other serious laws covering serious crimes like murder, using a stolen idea or design in card making for more than 10 times or if it involves a large amount of money already constitutes felony. But it would still mean a violation of this law if you use the product even without selling it. The creator can demand payment for damages which can be awarded through civil cases.

When discussing card making and copyright laws, it covers two aspects. One is knowing how to protect your intellectual property and the other one is knowing that others are protected, too. This means that you cannot just use any design or copy it then sell for a profit without the consent of the creator.

In protecting your original designs, first make sure that you have obeyed all the copyright provisions that can be applied to card making. Research ways and means to get protection for your work. If you are engaged in the business of card making, originality is a very significant part of how you can earn profits.

On the other hand, when in the process of card making, keep in mind that others are protected by this law, too. You cannot use nor copy any designs then sell them as your own. Never assume that you can use all quotes, artworks or graphics that can be found in public domains in the internet. Normally, there are provisions governing the use of these particular properties.

So always remember that the copyright laws applies both to your work and others', too. Simply put, it just means, don't copy the works of others and make sure that you are not copied, too.

Looking for cardmaking materials? For more info and excellent customer service, visit http://papermilldirect.co.uk/.

Trademarks - Learn How to Use the US Patent and Trademark Office Site by Joseph Stutzman

2010-05-30T04:37:00.000-07:00

Before beginning the trademark application process, you should familiarize yourself with the USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) site, unless of course you have a good patent and trademark attorney, in which case you can quit reading right now. But, for those of you who are starting out small and just want to protect that remarkable name or newly designed logo...read on.

The first step should be to determine if a trademark is what you actually need. The Trademark Office of the USPTO handles only trademarks, while the Patent Office handles those. The Copyright Office is actually a division of the Library of Congress so if you are at the site for the USPTO, you are definitely in the wrong place. To determine if you are in the right place, you might want to learn what the three different types of intellectual property listed above are comprised of. The USPTO has a glossary that clearly defines these terms.

The next step, once you have established that a trademark is, in fact, the intellectual property that you wish to protect, you can search the USPTO database in order to establish whether or not someone else is already claiming rights to your trademark. The search is free and easily accomplished online. If, on the other hand, your trademark includes a design element of some sort or is a logo, you will be required to search using the proper design code(s). You can also access the Design Search Code Manual from the USPTO website, which will walk you through the design code identification and search process.

If you find a mark that you think might conflict with the mark that you wish to use, make note of the serial or registration number of the mark. You can then check its status in the Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) database. Do not give up until you have exhausted all of your resources. You may find that the trademark is not currently in use or that it is for sale, sometimes quite inexpensively. You also may want to search the product online and make sure that if it is no longer in use, that there is not pending litigation or really negative aspects that you don't wish to spill over to your branding. It is always a good idea to have more than one idea when it comes to trademarks unless you can be absolutely sure that yours is so unique that that is unnecessary.

Finally, every application must have a statement that identifies the goods and/or services with the mark that is or will be used. The level of specific identification will depend upon the type of goods and/or services and must be acceptable according to the Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual, which link is also available through the USPTO website.

Trademark filing can be a daunting prospect, which is why many people prefer to pay for the services of a trademark attorney, but it is not impossible to do yourself. If you find that you have additional questions or concerns that are not answered by the website, then you can also call the Trademark Assistance Center at 1-800-786-9199 or 1-571-272-9250.

This is one government office that seems to have made a complicated process much easier than you might have originally thought.

Along with writing online articles, Joseph enjoys working in his gardens. Garden Harvest Supply is one of his favorite garden sites for buying herb plants and garden dusters.

Trademark Enforcement - Protect Your Brand by Cheryl L. Hodgson, J.D.

2010-05-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

The path to a great brand is littered with casualties. Many of these casualties are members of the "once were, now has been" brands. Brands are lost because their owners register their trademark and forget about it, believing they are off the hook. To build a lucrative brand that will not become a "has been" you must protect yourself by enforcing your trademark from brand bandits that are ready and eager to benefit from your success. Registration is the beginning. Enforcement in the digital age is an ongoing process of awareness and communication, both within an organization and with expert IP counsel on your team.

Enforcement means being aware. It is important that you understand and are mindful of what is happening in the marketplace in which your trademarks exist. This includes your own use, use by licensees, distributors and affiliates, as well as unrelated third parties. It also means a proactive stance towards managing risks that can weaken value or in some cases result in a complete loss of rights.

The registration of your trademark is only the beginning of the brand protection process. The act of enforcement also includes making sure that federal registrations are maintained. The Trademark Office requires periodic filings or they will cancel your registrations. Also, trademark owners must "police" their marks against unauthorized use or they risk losing valuable rights. It is important to teach authorized users to use the marks correctly as well as monitor their use. Many trademarks have been lost through neglect and failure to take simple steps to eliminate infringers.

A vital step in the trademark process is between the fifth and sixth year following registration. You must file affidavits showing that you are still using the marks in commerce or the registration will be canceled! Once canceled, others can file and take your rights. Additionally, the mark must be renewed at the end of ten years. A great example of the importance of trademark maintenance involves the use of CINDERELLA on peanut butter. It had been in use by the applicant since 1895, but the registration was allowed to lapse in 2001. The company re-filed to obtain the trademark only to be shot down and told they could not have the registration. The new application was denied on the grounds that it would be confused with a Disney registration for candy, chocolate, pretzels, and bread. This is a great example of how not paying attention, and/or not engaging trusted counsel as part of your team can result in a loss of rights.

Enforcing your mark also means "risk management." There are always risks in any business-some large, some small. In the case of trademarks, the greatest risk comes not in the form of a single large infringer, but in the owner's cumulative failure to take action against smaller, more numerous offenders. Left unchecked, small offenders can collectively result in the complete loss of rights. In short, take care of the small issues as they arise, the big ones will in turn take care of themselves.

Copyright 2008 Hodgson Law Group
Cheryl L. Hodgson, J.D.
For expert Branding advice visit: http://brandaideblog.com/
Visit us online: http://www.hodgson-law.com/

Copyright Damages - Domain Name Registration Information Affects the Willful Infringement Analysis By Brian A. Hall

2010-05-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

When it comes to claims of cybersquatting, it is relatively understood that providing false Whois contact information is relevant to the bad faith determination under the Anti-cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). However, it may be less well-known that providing false contact information may also be relevant to a copyright infringement lawsuit. In particular, under the Copyright Act, namely 17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(3)(A), "it shall be a rebuttable presumption that the infringement was committed willfully for purposes of determining relief if the violator, or a person acting in concert with the violator, knowingly provided or knowingly caused to be provided materially false contact information to a domain name registrar, domain name registry, or other domain name registration authority in registering, maintaining, or renewing a domain name used in connection with the infringement."

Put another way, this provision makes clear that an alleged infringer that is infringing the copyright of another through means of a website may be subject to statutory damages for willful infringement if the Whois information for the domain name pertaining to that website is inaccurate. This is extremely important and may provide additional leverage against an alleged infringer, especially since willful infringement subjects a copyright infringer to $150,000.00 in monetary damages. It is important to recognize that the prerequisites for a copyright infringement lawsuit, and the ability to recover statutory damages, still apply. Namely, a copyright must be registered with the United States Copyright Office prior to the infringement or within three months of publication, and the infringement must be willful. This particular provision, assuming that the copyright was properly registered in a timely fashion, creates a rebuttable presumption that the infringement is willful.

Thus, it is important that any online copyright infringement include an analysis of the domain name Whois information. Conversely, copyright attorneys should advise their clients that, once again, maintaining accurate and up-to-date contact information is extremely important for multiple causes of action, including copyright infringement. Ultimately, understanding that provisions like this exist are critical for any internet lawyer who regularly deals with online copyright infringement and related issues. Understanding that a similar provision does not yet exist for trademark infringement claims may also be valuable and worth lobbying or argument on the same.

Brian A. Hall is an attorney and partner of Traverse Legal, PLC, a law firm specializing in complex litigation, intellectual property matters, internet law, and copyright registration and copyright infringement matters. Speak with a copyright attorney today and learn more about copyright infringement threat letters and copyright damages.

Trademark Registration Process - Once Granted, Use it Or Lose It by Mark Y. Salmon

2010-05-16T05:53:00.001-07:00

Before you begin the trademark registration process, becoming familiar with the United States Patent and Trademark website is advisable at uspto.gov. The reason is that nearly all, if not all, of the process and transactions that will take place will occur involving the use of the website. There are many different resources that you may need that are available and by becoming familiar, you could save on time and frustration by knowing their location.

The next step that is recommended is determining exactly what type of intellectual property protection that you will be applying for. At this site, there are three different types of protection, the trademark, copyright, and patents. In the trademark section of this website, there are some pages that you could benefit from in the application process. The Basic Facts About Trademarks, Frequently Asked Questions, and the Trademark Manual of Examine Process or TMEP, along with a Glossary of terms to help define exactly what is being asked of the applicant can be found.

Once you know what you specifically want to trademark, the data base must be searched to make sure it has not already been protected. This is with the TESS or the Trademark Electronic Search System that is a part of the USPTO website. If a manual search is preferred, the public search library is open from 8 am to 5:30 pm at Madison East 1st floor, 600 Dulany St., Alexandria, Virginia 22313.

As part of your application, makes sure your trademark is represented clearly along with a complete description including the goods and or services it will be representing. Without this description, your trademark will not be granted.

To do the actual filing, the TEAS or Trademark Electronic Application System has to be used. This trademark registration process should take no longer than 5 to 6 months.

Find more informative ways, resources and FAQS about registering a trademark be more unique to anyone else. Visit http://www.registeringatrademark.org/.

What's Your Copyright Worth If It's Not Registered Prior to Someone Stealing Your Work? by Cheryl L. Hodgson, J.D.

2010-05-16T05:52:00.001-07:00

The answer is: "Not much." Visual and graphic artists are particularly vulnerable to unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted images on the Internet. It's literally a simple "right click," "copy," and "paste." Many such infringements go undetected. Those that are discovered are often let go without remedial action. Why? The artist fails to register his or her work with the U.S. Copyright Office prior to the work being stolen. For years, I've been asked: "Can't I just mail it to myself?" In the case of scripts, "Isn't the Writers Guild enough?" Then I hear, "I never got around to it." My answer is, "Sorry, there's not much I can do to help you."

NO, NO and-NO! There is one place, and one only, to register your works. Instead of sending in your registration by mail and waiting for years, the Copyright Office has come into the digital age so you can digitally upload the files. So why wait?

Exactly why is registration so darn important? While a copyright is valid without registration, the very statement is misleading. Copyright registration is essential to preserve key remedies for infringement. Unless registered prior to infringement, attorney's fees and statutory damages are not available. It is often difficult, if not impossible, to prove actual damages or profits attributable to theft of a copyrighted work. For example, if the work is used on a product that doesn't sell millions of copies, how do you prove your damages?

Congress created two types of damages to recover under copyright law. In addition to "actual damages," one can elect statutory damages without proof of out of pocket losses. This means not only will the infringer have to pay you up to $150,000 per willful act of infringement (the amount is discretionary with the court) they will need to pay your lawyer's fees. However, your work must have been registered prior to the theft or these remedies are lost. Without the threat of having to pay attorney's fees to the copyright owner, there is little, if any, chance of finding counsel to bring a costly and drawn out infringement action on a speculative basis.

Legally, you are entitled to obtain an injunction to prevent ongoing or future infringements even if you file the registration after the infringement. A preliminary injunction in a copyright case can cost six figures and above in legal fees.

If you don't register, you won't be getting any statutory damages or lawyer's fees from the defendant. Unless you can finance the case out of your own pocket, this is one lawyer who can't afford to help you. Do your selves a big favor-take care of this simple but all important part of your business. Register your works-someday you may be glad you did!

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http://brandaideblog.com/

How to Patent, Trademark, And Copyright a Clothing Line by Mat Grell

2010-05-09T10:32:00.001-07:00

Intellectual property applicable to a new Clothing Line design may include trademark protection, copyright, and/or a patent(s):

Trademark protection
For the name, logo, or graphic that identifies and distinguishes your line from others. You can and should use TM next to or in close proximity to your mark upon initial use. TM simply means that you claim a common law right to the mark, which by virtue of your use you have a right to claim.

Use of ® is strictly prohibited until your application is completely approved and your mark is registered at the United States Trademark Office. In fact, improper use of ® is illegal and can be punishable by law. In addition, improper use can adversely affect trademark rights and registerability of a mark.

NOTE: The trademark must be used consistently to identify the clothing line verses some short phrase, slogan and/or graphic printed on a garment or T-shirt for the purpose of making a statement. First step is to identify your mark, its goods or service description, and learn common mistakes in selecting a mark, see Trademark Information and Trademark Goods Services Description. Second step is to perform a Trademark Search, see Trademark Search Instructions on How to Perform a Search as part of the Inventor Start Kit.

Copyright
If you have a drawing or a pattern showing the design of your garment or a photograph of garment these can be the basis of a copyright application. As a reminder, you should always include a copyright notice on all copies of your work (garment design), fixed on paper or in an electronic form, such as © 200_ Full Name/Company Name. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Note: If multiple authors are contributing to a work (garment) and a single person or entity desires to own the collective work then the parties must transfer their rights to the single person or entity via an assignment/work-made-for-hire agreement; otherwise, each contributor is owed a ratable share of the profits realized from use, license or sale of the work.

Design Patent
If your garment design is a new and non-obvious garment design (article of manufacture) it may qualify for protection under a design patent.

Mat Grell, U.S. Patent Attorney - Founder of The Inventor Start Kit, a simple step-by-step process that helps inventors protect their ideas and get them to the marketplace... to hopefully make millions! Visit Mat's site: http://www.inventorstartkit.com/

Trademarks - How to File For a National Trademark by Patrick Newman

2010-05-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

Trademark filing is the process of registering a trademark. By far the large bulk of trademark filings are done online.

So what is involved in trademark filing? There are 10 steps - steps 2 and 3 are summarised here today.

Step 2. Start trademark online filing
Step 3 Application Filing Fee
The other steps are:

Step 1 - Confirming your trademark intentions
........
Step 4. - understanding the basis for filing
Step 5 - Providing a Specimen
Step 6 - Signing or authorising the trademark filing application
Step 7 - Review of the trademark application
Step 8 - Publication for opposition
Step 9 - Certificate of Registration
Step 10 - Maintaining Trademark Registration
Step 2 Trademark online

By far the largest bulk of trademark filings are done online using the USPTO Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). While the USPTO greatly prefers that you file electronically using TEAS, you may either mail or hand deliver a paper application to the USPTO.

An application must include the following elements before the USPTO will accept it:

the name of the applicant;
a name and address for correspondence;
a clear drawing of the mark;
a listing of the goods or services; and
the filing fee for at least one class of goods or services
If your application does not meet these requirements, the USPTO will return the application papers and refund any fees submitted.

Application Filing Fee

At the time of writing this article the published fee for "Application for registration, per international class (electronic filing, TEAS application)" was $325 USD.

For current fees for trademark applications and amendments, see the current USPTO Fee Schedule. Fee increases, when necessary, usually take effect on October 1 of any given year. You can call 1-800-PT0-9199 for up-to-date fee information.

For fees associated with the listing of classes, see the USPTO International Schedule of Classes of Goods and Services. The filing fee must be paid in United States currency (USD). The USPTO accepts payment by credit card, check or money order, or through an existing USPTO deposit account.

Personal, business and certified checks are accepted and should be made payable to "Director of the USPTO." A form for authorizing charges to a credit card can be accessed through all TEAS forms. If you are filing on paper, you can download the form for authorizing credit card charges from the USPTO website.

In summary, trademark filing can be broken down into 10 easy steps, two of which are the actual filing (step 2) and paying the application fee (step 3).

By the way, you should always consult with a trademark attorney or trademark professional for assistance, trademark services and advice.

Patrick Newman writes on intellectual property, copyright and trademark matters from practical business experience. Patrick is a member of the licensing executives society international, has an MBA and a degree in engineering. For more information see Trademark Filing

To get find out more about the ebook click here: Trademark Filing in 10 Easy Steps

What is the Difference Between a Patent, a Trademark, and a Copyright? by Daniel Gibbs

2010-05-02T10:52:00.002-07:00

Intellectual property is protected by international and U.S. law, just as it would be your car or savings account. You can earn profit from property intellectual rights, you have the option to lease or sell them, and by using patents, trademarks and copyrights, you can also protect them.

If you want to have protection within the United States, you must have a patent issued by USPTO. There are patent rights organizations for international markets also. If you own a patent of something, you have the exclusive right to produce and market your invention for 20 years. Is someone wants to make it, license it, use it, sell it, or even offer to sell it has to have your permission.

If you want to patent an idea of yours, you must be prepared the patent application is lengthy and expensive, and there is also no guarantee you will get it. In 2007 USPTO received 485,000 applications, but issued only 93,691 patents.

If you apply for a patent, you can opt for three categories: utility patents are for processes, machines and item compositions, such as certain drug formulas. Design patents protect the appearance and design for clothing, protective gear and characters. Plant patents are for the protection of hybrid and genetically engineered plants.

However, there are things that can not be patented, such as abstract ideas. These can be protected by copyright, if they are written down. Illegal things and physical elements like water or iron also can not be patented.

Trademarks are things like words, names, logos, colors or sounds associated with a particular merchandise or service. Trademarks have the role of preventing the competitors to use the same logos or names to confuse consumers. Trademarks are issued for ten years, and you can renew it as long as you use t in your business. There is no possibility to renew a trademark if the company it belongs to is not operating.

Copyrights are for the protection of any artistic work, form poetry to video games and movies. Even choreography can be copyrighted, if it is written down. Copyrights can be registered thorough the U.S. Library of Congress, and they take effect once the idea is created in some fixed form. With other words, an idea in your head can not be copyrighted, it has to be written down. Copyright lasts as long as the creator lives, plus 70 years for things created before January 1, 1978. For the work created before, there is a maximum of 95 years.

Daniel has been writing articles online for nearly 4 years now. Not only does he specialize in business related issues, you can also check out his latest websites on conference call UK and Hon Filing Cabinets.

Should You Copyright Your Photographs and Content on Your Website? by Mike Hodge

2010-05-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

Copyright law has changed a lot over the years. Generally, when you create artistic or intellectual material (photos, songs, music, articles,etc.), you automatically and instantly create a copyright. You may put the copyright symbol by your creation, but since 1989, this is not a requirement.. However, it is good practice to include it to inform people that the work is copyrighted.

As far as registering your material, it is $35 for a basic copyright. The fee increases depending on what is involved; up to $215. It may not seem that much, but if you have hundreds or even thousands of items, you can see how it could add up. You can register a copyright yourself on line at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

There are a lot of people who choose not to register a copyright, since they own the copyright outright. The only time it becomes an issue is if someone uses your material without your permission, and they copy, reproduce or try to get financial gain from your work. Then, before pursuing legal action, you must copyright the material in question. Copyright law does not follow a consistent standard practice...much of it is on a case by case basis. There are many exceptions and exclusions.

So, there are two sides to copyrighting. Some people put out their work without registering for a copyright. Some people think you should register a copyright for everything. A lot has to do with how you choose to display your work. Will it be on the Internet? Newspaper? Art Gallery? Is it just for your personal collection?

Some say copyright only if you are able to back it up with legal action. This can be very expensive and take years to resolve. If you discover that someone has used a photograph or other content without your permission, you can have your lawyer send a cease and desist order, and sometimes that is all it takes. You can find all the information you need on the website of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It is also recommended that you consult a copyright and trademark attorney for further information.

Mike Hodge is the owner of ComputerProductsUnlimited.com He specializes in Website Development, Search Engine Optimization>, and Internet Marketing.

Copyright Licensing - How to License and Make Money From Your Copyright by John S. Steele

2010-04-25T06:12:00.000-07:00

Before we discuss copyright licensing, let's just refresh ourselves as to the meaning of the word copyright. Copyright protection is given to the owner of original works they have written, drawn or composed regardless of whether it is published or unpublished. So when you think of copyrighting, you should be thinking of art, music, drama or literary works. Some other intellectual property items will fall under copyrighting protection as well but these are the main types.

Unless the owner of a copyright gives you permission you are prohibited by law from copying his/her work. The exact laws and the recourse available will differ from country to country. You can give someone permission to copy your work when you own the copyright if you grant them a copyrighting license. This can then authorize them to reproduce the drawings or music and distribute them, stage a production of your play, display your paintings etc.

The actual conditions of the license will be subject to a written contract. You should never use copyrighted material on the basis of a handshake or non written agreement as you could very easily end up being sued and caught in the middle of a public relations nightmare.

A copyright license will include something called a grant of license. This gives the person looking to use the work the right to do that. The contract will also cover who owns what, how long the agreement will last and the form of remuneration to be put in place and the terms agreed i.e. immediate payment or a percentage of sales. It will also stipulate any conditions that have been imposed on how the copyrighted works can be used for example the right to stage a production in theater but not to show film coverage of the same production on TV. Another example would be the right to reprint a book in a different language but not to make it available on the internet in the form of an e-book.

The contract will also have to state where it is valid i.e. a contract drawn up in the US may not be sufficient to cover copyright law in the UK and vice versa. It may be that you need a number of contracts, with each one written to apply in a particular geographic location thus taking account of the laws of that particular Country. It is very important that the contract awarding the copyright license stipulates the penalties that will be applied if the terms of the contact are broken.

As with all types of licensing agreements you should employ a legal expert in this area to represent you. If something does go wrong and you find that the legal protection under the contract was insufficient, you can then sue your attorney. If you proceed on your own, who do you think will foot the bill of any loss you make?

In addition to using an attorney or more than one if you plan on offering copyright licenses worldwide, you need to educate yourself about licensing. Take a great course and learn from someone who has put the theory into practice. Only then can you know whether the contract you are being offered is a good one or not!

Licensing agent John Steele teaches you how to successfully license your product, trademark, patent, copyright or brand. Visit John Steele's website to learn about licensing agreements, licensing partners, and licensing pitfalls.

Plush Toys - Protecting the Copyright, Trademark and Patent by Rob E Bishop

2010-04-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

If you have ideas for unique plush toys, it's just right to do everything to protect them. Plush toys are very profitable and if you don't cover all bases to protect your ideas, "enterprising" individuals will take advantage of it. They will be doing it "legally" because you didn't do the things to lawfully protect them. The last thing that a toy inventor would want is to see his cute plush toys displayed somewhere and he's not the legal owner of it.

There are three things that you can apply for to protect your plush toys ideas - copyright, trademark and patent. So what can you personally do to protect them? Here are the things that you can do to protect your unique plush toys' copyrights, trademarks and patent:

* Copyrights

Copyrights protect the overall look of your toy. For cuddly plush toys, it protects its "cuteness". It will shelter the way the face looks, the proportion of the body and the likes. The toys features are probably the most important factor to protect since they are the most obvious and your selling point. Copyrighting is automatic - the moment you put your idea onto paper or even a napkin from the neighborhood deli, it is legally protected under copyright. However, it's better if you can document it so that it will be easier to enforce. How do you document it? A lot of people believe that mailing yourself a copy of your idea via snail mail is the way to go. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. The best way to protect your plush toy ideas is to keep a note of all the relevant information that proves you as the owner of the idea. A notebook would do. Just take note of all your ideas and when you thought of them. You can add additional information about how you thought of the idea and where you thought of them. To further enforce it, keep notes of all witnesses. Just like in any legal proceedings, witnesses can win your "case" for you.

* Trademarks

Trademarks protect your toys' names and logos. Basically, your toys' branding is protected. Your unique stuffed doll should have distinctive names so you can do things to protect them. An example of a trademark is the name Barbie. No one can use Barbie for a name because you will be violating its trademarks. This is a little expensive and not all toys should be covered by it. The best way is to ask for legal advice from a lawyer to see if it makes sense to apply for trademarks in your own case.

* Patent

This is the most expensive among the three. Aside from being expensive, this is also the hardest to get. As an inventor of cute plush toys, it's good to know that you probably won't need them. But like trademarks, it's best to ask for legal advice from a lawyer.

So check to see what applies to your stuffed dolls to know how you can protect them. It will be one of the best things you've ever done as a toy inventor.

Rob E Bishop invites you to bring your stuffed toy invention idea to his website at CustomPlushToys.com where you can learn how to design, create and sell your own stuffed toy idea. Download his free report "Don't Get Ripped Off" to discover the secrets of how to navigate the dangers in making your toy idea successful.

Chinese Writers Ask Copyright Compensation from Google

2009-11-02T05:35:00.000-08:00

The China Written Works Copyright Society (CWWCS) will send a letter to Google China to discuss over the latter's compensations to Chinese writers relating to copyright.

Previously, Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reached an agreement in the US, which aimed to come up with a regulation for the emerging e-book industry. However, the agreement irritated writers and publishers in Europe, which forbade Google to print European books published within 150 years.

Some believe that Google's compromise with European writers and publishers is applicable to Chinese works. However, the CWWCS dose not agree with their opinion, pointed out its executive deputy secretary Zhang Hongbo.

The compromise says that writers will get one-time compensation and 63% of the sales revenues from the e-books produced on the basis of their works, if Google scans their publications without permission.

The CWWCS finds out that Google has violated the copyrights of 570 Chinese writers by printing their 17,000 books. Some of them have entrusted the CWWCS to protect their rights.

Artists to Ask Administration to Protect Copyright

2009-10-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

The Copyright Alliance and its grassroots network of creators today announced circulation among creators nationwide of a letter to President Obama and Vice President Biden, asking the Administration to pursue policies supportive of the rights of artists.

"Artists and creators make important contributions not only to our society and culture, but also to our economy," said Lucinda Dugger, the Alliance's Director of Outreach. "Increasingly, creators are finding their work misappropriated, reproduced and distributed without their knowledge, consent or benefit by those who believe intellectual property should be free for the taking. It is important that creators speak up about how the principle of copyright empowers and provides incentive for creators."

The announcement follows a rapid internal response to the letter, which within a few days of circulation among the Alliance's grassroots network garnered nearly 7,000 electronic signatures. With artists encouraging participation within their personal networks on blogs and Twitter feeds, the letter already has been signed by creators in all 50 states and representing a full spectrum of creative disciplines.

Signers include authors, photographers, songwriters, graphic designers, filmmakers, musicians, publishers, jewelry designers, web designers, photojournalists, illustrators, video game developers, architects, cartoonists, composers, playwrights, voice actors, animators, sculptors, painters and videographers.

Individuals interested in signing the letter can do so at www.copyrightalliance.org/letter The Alliance intends to deliver the letter to the Administration later this fall.

Consequences of Plagiarism by John Halasz

2009-10-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

Plagiarism is a wide-spread problem in academia, and its personal and societal consequences are equally diverse. Although the penalties for plagiarism vary among different academic institutions, it is not acceptable in any college or university. Consequences may range from a simple warning to being expelled from the school.

Personal Consequences of plagiarism

On a personal level, being caught plagiarizing can be quite embarrassing. People usually view those who plagiarize as being a fraud or phony, a cheater and even a con. In essence, plagiarism can be viewed as theft. In addition to stealing someone else's work, the plagiarizer also deprives someone else, who is arguably more qualified, from gaining employment,

Societal or Economical Consequences of plagiarism

Plagiarism is a widespread problem in the education world. It is so rampant among academic institutions that it does not find its way to newspaper headlines anymore. Educators not agreeing with the practice made it a rule to have their students written works submitted to plagiarism check software or company like Turnitin. This ensures that the written works are original and not copied from any other author, as the software will check phrases duplicates with other sites.

Student Consequences of plagiarism

Students who are caught face serious consequences of plagiarism. Consequences include receiving a verbal warning, a failing grade, or expulsion from the university. The Dean of Student Affairs usually implement the failing status and expulsion of the student when found guilty. The student may not be aware of the intensity of the act and the penalties that go with it. This is a serious offense and educational institutions are implementing harsh punishments to students caught practicing plagiarism. The use of another student's work or even another author's work in the internet is a serious plagiarism offense that can damage your career and future. The instructor usually decides the kind of punishment to give the student.

Plagiarism does not take into account the time and effort one puts into the study or research. This is quite unfair to other students who had been spending significant amount of time to complete their projects. Plagiarism often makes original authors feel angry and betrayed. The consequences of plagiarism include the eradication or suppression of creativity and critical thinking. The objective of education is to keep a learning environment that would encourage students to become independent and original thinkers. When a student plagiarizes, they lose their creativity.

A student found guilty of plagiarism incurs severe disciplinary consequences. There are serious consequences of plagiarism implemented by the instructor, such as receiving a failing grade. The case reported to the University's Dean of Students will also be included in the student's school records. Repeated practices of plagiarism can lead to expulsion from the university. Plagiarism can also lead to serious damages like lawsuits, disgrace, and loss of position.

With graduate students, the consequences of plagiarism tend to be swift. The plagiarizer cannot participate from graduate programs and usually obtains a failing grade. Most universities also ban them from enrolling in another course for a period of five years. Junior faculties could lose their jobs. If is an MBA or PhD program, the school will probably allow the plagiarizer to withdrawal their degree. Administration is reluctant to charge plagiarism with graduate students who are in an MBA or PhD program. Some educational systems treat plagiarizers as troublemakers. Furthermore, they received lectures concerning defamation and libel.

The definition of plagiarism is rooted in dishonesty. There are many factors to consider why a student could commit plagiarism. One is the absence of citation or improper use of referencing. A student's failure to know the rules and regulations in citing sources could make him commit unwanted plagiarism. The instructor could penalize the student to redo the writing assignment and coach him to improve citing text. Students who plagiarize usually obtain a lower grade or a failing grade. The student may still have the chance to pass the course provided his other works are good. However, if the instructor were convinced that the student lied about the research materials resources and cheated about the project, then he would implement stiffer penalties. The student may get a failing grade for the assignment at the same time get a failing grade for the course. The most common consequences of plagiarism are a failing grade for the course. Plagiarism is a growing epidemic, which transcends to students and professors.

John Halasz is a former writing teacher and currently a professional writer and internet marketer. He has written SEO articles and ghostwritten novels, books, and scholarly articles.

A Canisius College graduate, he went on to the University of Buffalo for his teaching certificate in English writing, earning a 3.934 GPA before going on to teach in Brooklyn, NY.

To learn more about writing or to hire a ghostwriter, see John Halasz's Writing Services and SEO copywriting services.