When I started getting serious about my business and building my brand, I realized that I wasn't prepared to handle any legal problems that we might come across. I didn't know how to defend myself against allegations of wrongdoing in the business realm, but my company was getting large enough that it started to attract some unwanted attention from competitors. To set things straight, I decided to hire a business attorney to help us out. Our lawyer was amazing, and he went through and coached us so that we would know how to handle problems. I was really impressed with his services. This blog is all about why you should have a business attorney.
The internet is constantly opening up new avenues for creative people to explore. No matter where your talent lies, there's a format out there where you can express yourself, share your abilities, and find an audience. However, you also have to protect yourself against unscrupulous types who might try to profit off of your creations. In many cases, copyright law can help. A copyright is the legal mechanism that allows an artist to claim their creation and any profits that come from promoting and sharing that creation. But if you're an amateur creator, you may not be familiar with how copyright law protects you. Take a look at some copyright basics that all internet creators should know.
You May Hold a Copyright Without Knowing It
Many people are under the mistaken impression that they have to register their work in order to get a copyright. And if you believe that, it's easy to believe that its only worth pursuing a copyright if you create something big, like a novel.
The truth is that a copyright is automatic. If you type out a 200 word blog post, you own that blog post, and you have the copyright to it. No one else is allowed to take that post and republish under their own name or sell it without your permission. Registering your creation with the Copyright Office does make it easier to establish that you're the original author or artist, but it's not necessary or required for you to do so. And in fact, when it comes to internet-based creations, date and time stamps can often do a good job of proving who originally created the work.
You May Be Surprised At What You Can Copyright
You may already know that you can copyright an original written work, piece of music, or work of art, like a drawing or painting. These are some of the most common things that you can copyright, but they're far from the only things that copyright applies to.
Did you choreograph a new dance and film your friends performing it? Not only do you own the copyright on the video, you also own the copyright on the dance arrangement. Did you create an original graph to help your blog readers understand some data that you've researched? That graph is yours, and you own the copyright. Even maps can be copyrighted, so if you create one for your online geocaching group, that map is your intellectual property.
When To Worry About Copyrighting
A creative person can amass a great many copyrights, but that doesn't mean that all of them are important. The purpose of a copyright is to allow the creator to profit from their work, or to decide who else can profit from their work. If a piece of work isn't going to bring you or anyone any profit, it is probably not worth fighting about.
For example, while you may own the copyright to a short blog post, and while it may be annoying if a friend copies the post to their own blog without crediting you, if neither of your blogs are monetized and neither of you are receiving any compensation for the post, it's probably not worth any kind of legal battle over those words. But if your blog is monetized, or if the post was sponsored and you were paid for writing it, then someone stealing the post and republishing it without attribution could be diluting your profits – especially if they're also attempting to make money from your words. Even then, you'd have to decide whether or not the cost of pursuing a legal remedy would be worth the effort. If the post went viral, it could be worth a lot. If it only got a few views or clicks, you may be better off letting it go.
If you have a question about protecting your copyright to something you created on the internet, a legal service, like Kaliko & Associates, LLC, that specializes in copyright law can help. Internet-based creations are as valuable as any other creative material, and you shouldn't hesitate to find out how you can protect and profit from your hard work.
Share14 July 2016
