Photo Credit: Copyright Symbols by MikeBlogs used under CC BY 2.0
There’s something special about the color black.
In the fashion world, it’s come to enjoy a sort of legendary status, expressing an authentic mix of poise and practicality that’s completely essential for every wardrobe.
Could it be that copyright, the supposed refuge for creators and authors, has also achieved similar status?
It’s an issue well worth addressing. In today’s technology-driven era of ubiquity and proliferation, our airwaves are ever awash in torrential downpours of information.
The combination of capable hardware and widespread social networking makes it convenient, entertaining and even rewarding to select and share, share, share. Herein, lies the crux of our issue.
Transcending the Copycat Norm
The non-commercial copying and pasting, digitizing and downloading, forwarding and freely sharing considered so normal these days often leaves one key player completely out of the loop: the original creator, not to mention her compensation and credit.
This means creative work is routinely shared illegally, and our culture simply accepts it.
The protection of originality in creation lies at the heart of copyright law – mostly so that artists, writers and other creators can keep Continue reading Is Copyright the New Black?
Photo Credit: Large copyright sign made of jigsaw puzzle pieces by Horia Varlan used under CC BY 2.0.
The three most common Intellectual Property (IP) themed lawsuits are likely those that center on independent contractor/employee issues, copyright ownership issues and the hijacking of a unique and moneymaking idea.
The issues that create these types of lawsuits tend to crop up again and again for the simple reason that the law protecting the rights of the players is not always intuitive for most people with the result that costly and inadvertent mistakes can easily be made.
The first important legal mine field to know more about is the one that pits the rights of a creative or freelancer against those of an employer.
Part I. Independent Contractor IP Rights v. Employee
Just for a moment pretend that you created this really innovative business and you hired your neighbor’s kid do the programming work for your website.
Photo Credit: Blogging Research Wordle by Kristina B. used under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Blogs are well-known for routinely violating common copyright laws.
Not only is it, well, illegal, but it also presents some major branding and reputation issues, as well.
Savvy readers, for one, can identify when a blog is using copyrighted information without permission.
And it doesn’t bode well for your reputation! If you want to be recognized as a true professional in your field, then you need to give credit where credit is due. Let’s not forget about the ethical factor too, here. Freelancing is a community and we’re all in this together. Do your comrades a favor and give them credit for their hard work. I’m sure you would want them to do the same for you.
That being said, whether blogging is your business, or just a small piece of the bigger puzzle, it’s important that you do it right. Copyright infringement is no joke, so you don’t want to take any chances. You don’t have to be an attorney to understand copyright law and your blog, but it is essential that you do your homework to appreciate the basics. This will keep you out of hot water with the law and protect your quality reputation.
For starters, make sure you’re not making any of these 5 common copyright mistakes in your blog. And if you are, now’s the time to fix them!
Mistake #1 – You ignore the law in the first place!
Photo Credit: Cameron Winklevoss at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by Johnnyroee used under CC BY 3.0
Do you remember the movie “Social Network” that came out in 2010?
The movie’s main story line revolved around a toxic business relationship and intellectual property dispute that arose between Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, known to the world as the Winklevoss twins, and the future owner of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg.
The Winklevoss twins were students at Harvard and had hired Zuckerberg as an employee to work on the software of their social network business model and brand “UConnect.”
The twins would later claim that Zuckerberg stole their business model “idea” when he formed his own social network site “Facebook.” The twins sued Zuckerberg in federal court netting them millions of dollars in damages.
Ideas Are Not Copyrightable
Everybody knows that ideas are not copyrightable.
Does that mean then that whenever you have a brilliant and innovative idea for a business, a novel, a car design or have any other flash of true genius in the form of a concept or design that there is no law in place that can work to protect the intellectual property rights in your “idea”?
Is there no way to stop your “idea” from being stolen out from under you by trusted employees or other double dealing interests in situations similar to that of Mark Zuckerberg and those innocent and trusting Winklevoss twins?
Photo Credit: 5 Mosaic by Leo Reynolds used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
For most graphics designers, it’s hard enough juggling the rigors of running a business or staying on top of a hectic freelance schedule.
Add to that the mountain of confusing information surrounding intellectual property (IP) rights, and a vast sea of frustration, and even borderline apathy, might quickly ensue.
However, graphic designers have good reason to get to know the specifics about their IP rights.
Once work is created and made available to the public, the chances of someone claiming the work as their own or reproducing it without giving proper credit can skyrocket in today’s technologically advanced, share-friendly culture. Nothing is more infuriating than discovering that your creative ability is being exploited by someone who has neither the permission nor the right to do so.
Quality Work Needs Quality Protection
Getting the facts about intellectual property laws and how they affect your design work is something that simply cannot be put off.
That’s because just about all the work that designers produce falls under the category of intellectual property, and the wisest thing to do with intellectual property is to protect it.
Remember, just because there is no tangible product involved in your creative process does not mean your work deserves any less protection, or compensation, than other valuable business assets.
Graphics designers also must be prepared to go beyond simply protecting their own work. They also need to make sure they don’t end up infringing someone else’s work as well.
In the design field, as in any other, it’s considered extremely disrespectful and ethically inconsiderate to use someone else design without permission.
It’s imperative that designers stay abreast of what is and is not allowed when it comes to using the images, photos and design elements of other artists and creators.
Fact 1. The Difference Between a Copyright and a Trademark is Use
Several types of intellectual property rule the graphics design world.
There are differences here that are essential to know for interactions with clients as well as for protecting your ideas and creative work.
The two most important IP rights for graphics designers are copyrights and trademarks.
Did you know that few people really own their own wedding photos?
It’s a little known fact that most people are shocked to discover.
However, after reading this post you’ll understand why wedding photos are the most expensive photos of a lifetime that most people don’t own and more importantly, how you can avoid this common wedding-day fail and own your wedding day AND your wedding photos.
A wedding is such a personal matter. Many automatically assume full ownership of wedding photos belongs to the happy, new couple.
They figure the wedding photographer is merely someone paid to render a service, and never imagine that, in actuality, ownership belongs solely to the photographer.
It’s a matter of copyright right law, and a finicky one at that.
Owning Your Wedding Day, Doesn’t Mean You Own Your Wedding Day Photos
Here’s the scenario: With the wedding only weeks away, the future Mr. and Mrs. Nuptial are planning their wedding photos.
They’ve hired the magnificent Mr. Flash, a very popular wedding photographer whose reputation precedes him.
The Nuptials, having seen his work, are thrilled to have him on board. In a brief meeting, Mr. Flash describes the details of the pre-wedding photo shoot as well as the arrangements for wedding day pics.
Trusting his experience and reputation the Nuptials agree. Everything is set.
After the wedding, the Nuptials are back from their honeymoon and excited to see the lovely photos of their beautiful day. More importantly they want copies to share with friends and family.
They dial up Mr. Flash and speak with his assistant. She quickly informs the couple, to their utter dismay, in order to take any photos home, they’ll have to pay a whopping expense for each extra print.
