Copyright In A Nutshell
The easily accessible pictures, gifs, and knowledge that lies at our fingertips has a serious downside. The over-production of images and ideas in today’s age has led to the plague of copyright infringement. This plague leads to many new hurdles for the already angsty and ruffled modern blog writer and leads us to the ultimate question: “How do I claim my art?” In order to answer this question, we must first ask ourselves what defines intellectual property. Intellectual property deals with what I like to call soul-creations. These creations range from music, literature, painting, graphic design, photography and other unique free-handed works.
Your art is your own personal testimony and it is your responsibility to properly protect your unique pieces. Blogs automatically protect authors’ ownership of their own intellectual property unless you have signed a document with your agency or blog provider stating otherwise. The Free Online Dictionary defines copyright as
a bundle of intangible rights granted by statute to the author or originator of certain literary or artistic productions, whereby, for a limited period, the exclusive privilege is given to that person (or to any party to whom they the originator transfers ownership) to make copies of the same for publication and sale (“Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus.” The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2016).
Copyright owners are the only ones who have this right to control the reproduction of their work. However, there is one main exception to this rule referred to as Work-For-Hire. Work-For-Hire is where you may sign your copyrights over to a professional agency and will no longer be the sole owner of your work. It is recommended that Freelance authors and bloggers read over Work-For-Hire agreements with lawyers and other professionals of their choice.
How To Claim Your Art
- Purchase a copyright, patent, trademark and recognize that these are all under the law known as intellectual property.
- Sign a Work-For-Hire agreement when working for an organization to make sure that your work is copyrighted under your employer or your individual name if you choose.
- Place a copyright logo next to of each piece you have published to help prevent theft.
What You Should Do About an Art Thief
Just because you don’t work for an agency and did not sign any Work-For-Hire agreements your blog has an automatic copyright inscription called “air quality monitoring” simply because your name is on your web page. The law will back you up on the fact that no other blogger has the right to share your content without your permission.
Here are the three main steps to take if your work is stolen:
First Step: Confront the thief:
Get into contact with a lawyer or research a copyright infringement form and send it to the thief if your material is not immediately removed from their site.
Second Step: Write a Cease and Desist Order
A Cease and Desist order is a type of copyright infringement claim that grants you the right to take further legal action against the thief. You should send the thief the Cease and Desist letter so that you can prove their statement and resistance in court if they claim they are not violating your copyrights.
Last Resort Step: File a DMCA Complaint
A Digital Millennium Copyright Ace is a documented complaint to the blogger’s Web host. By filing a DMCA Complaint you are given the power to remove their blog from the public domain if the blogger is not in accordance with the Web host’s guidelines. You can also file a DMCA Complaint to Google Ads if a thief gains commission from allowing Google ads on their personal site.
What I Hope You’ve Learned
I hope that this blog will inspire you as a writer who displays your personal writing. My goal is to help you be more knowledgeable about your right to ownership of your public portfolios. This knowledge is especially vital when you rely on commission because the value of your art is dependent upon your investments in your education, materials, and original skill set. You deserve the proper appreciation for your yearly commitments that have enabled you to produce masterpieces in just a day’s time.
