Copyrights
A copyright is a form of intellectual property that grants the creator of an original artistic work exclusive rights to use, distribution, and licensing of both the original and close variations and derivative works. In simpler terms, this means that altering one verse of a copyrighted song could still constitute infringement. Copyrights are thus designed to protect creative expression from plagiarism and unauthorized reproduction, thereby encouraging artists to produce. Copyright protection lasts for the lifetime of the author plus an additional 70 years. For works made for hire – i.e a commissioned work – the term is 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.
Similar to trademarks protection, copyright protection is automatic for any original work – even those lacking a registration with the Copyright Office. However, enforcement of copyright law and obtaining damages paid by infringers is, as many areas of intellectual property law, subjective. Rather than dealing with a longer than necessary court process, a copyright registration entitles a creator to speedily confront plagiarizers with the backing of federal acknowledgement of the metes and bounds of the propriety of the work in question. It is thus recommended to obtain a registration as soon as possible.
It is important to note that certain uses of copyrighted material are allowed without permission under the doctrine of “fair use.” For example, response to a literary work, short quotes with appropriate citations and attributions, a film critique, or news reporting showing a new painting at a gallery would all be allowable. False attribution of a work to an alleged but not actual creator and especially profiting off of a work of another artist, however, are flagrant violations of copyright laws.
There are multiple formats of artistic creation which can be copyrighted.
Literary Works are those where the primary medium of expression is text. This website, for example, is considered a literary work. Further examples include textbooks, poems, fictional books, essays, and articles.
Works of The Visual Arts include two and three-dimensional physical pieces. Examples include paintings, photographs, sketches, engineering blueprints, sculptures, and architectural pieces.
Works of The Performing Arts include theatrical performances, plays and scripts, dance numbers, and musicals. Works in this category are those that are generally performed in front of a live audience.
Sound Recordings include songs, auditory background effects, and the like.
Motion Pictures and Audiovisual Works differ from Works of The Performing Arts in that they are typically displayed to a viewer via a machine and/or screen with a speaker system. Thus, this category encompasses cinematographic work, filmography, music videos, documentaries, and animations.
Multiple related works may be filed together as a Catalog of Works. For instance, a collection of photographs of skylines from cities around the world could be registered as a catalog, thus avoiding the need to register each individual image separately. Similarly, an anthology of short stories or a scientific journal containing articles from multiple research institutions would be considered catalogs.