Copyright can be a tricky subject in many ways. If you don’t have all of your bases covered, you could end up in some legal trouble. So let’s work on avoiding that.
It’s actually kind of simple, but sometimes so many terms and phrases are thrown around that it’s difficult to keep up. Here’s what you should know about copyright if you want to protect your work or abide by the law.
What Is Copyright?
Copyright basically covers your right to be the only person who can use or distribute your work. You can sell, rent out, or give away copies of it. If someone tries to violate that law by using your work without your permission, they could be found guilty of copyright infringement. So if someone copies your song, poem, or story to sell on the black market, that’s copyright infringement.
What Does Copyright Protect?
Copyright protects original works of art, including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. This is for published and unpublished works.
How do I Register for Copyright?
You can register copyright through the U.S. Copyright Office, either online or through snail mail. The costs involved depend on which method you choose.
Florida IPA Attorney, the best copyright law firm in Miami Beach, will be able to complete the process quickly and painlessly with you. All it takes is a properly completed application form, a non-refundable filing fee of only $35, and a non-returnable deposit of the work being copyrighted.
There are several different types of application forms that you may need, such as:
- Form TX: for both published and unpublished literary works
- Form SE: for serials like periodicals or newspapers
- Form G/DN: for a complete month’s issues of a daily newspaper
- Form PA: for the performing arts
- Form VA: for the visual arts
- Form SR: for sound recordings
Your attorney will help you select the proper form from these and fill it out accurately and completely.
How Long Does Copyright Protection Last?
Current law provides for the life of the author plus 70 years, or in the case of anonymous or pseudonymous works, the shorter of either 95 years from first publication or 120 years from creation.
How Is Copyright Enforced?
Copyright is enforced when there is copyright infringement, which means someone is stealing your work and selling it as their own.
Three things must be in place for this to happen:
- The copyright holder must have a valid copyright
- Someone who is accused of pirating a copyrighted work must have access to it
- Duplication of a copyrighted work must not fall within any of the exceptions
What Are the Exceptions?
There are three main exceptions to copyright.
Public Domain: If a work falls into the public domain, it is no longer protected by copyright law, and anyone can use it.
Fair Use: Fair use is the idea that some copyrighted works may be reproduced for limited purposes. This does not mean you can steal someone’s work and claim it as your own.
Non-Copyrightable Works: There are some things that don’t fall under copyright protection, including facts and ideas; therefore, these cannot be infringed upon.
In the case that all of these criteria are met, then this will need to be addressed. There are several possible penalties for violating copyright law, including the following:
- The infringer can go to jail.
- The infringer agrees to pay the actual dollar amount of compensation and gain.
- For each work infringed, the law sets a fine of $200 to $150,000.
- The court may issue an injunction to prevent the infringement acts.
- The Court can impound the illegal works.
- Infringer pays for all attorney fees and court costs.
How Florida IPA Attorneys Can Help
Copyright law in Miami is very complex, so it is essential to have someone fighting for you who has a thorough knowledge of them. The best copyright law firm in Miami Beach that can defend your rights are the Florida IPA Attorneys.
They can help with getting a copyright for your work so that other people can’t illegally use it, and they can also represent you in court if there is a case of copyright infringement.
Don’t let somebody slip through the cracks and take what is yours. Contact us today.
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