The following information is from a post on the PIRC bulletin board. It has a lot of good copyright information written in plain English by a PhotoImpact user.
First, copyright - what is it? The protected ownership of a creation which is vested to the creator at the moment the creation takes FORM according to US copyright law (or the Berne convention for most but not all other countries). Notice the creation must take FORM to be copyright protected. This means that an idea may not be copyright protected - only the fruit of labor that produces a CREATION from the idea. Copyright means that only the owner CONTROLS the use of the creation, so any use allowed by another should be well thought out, planned, documented because if not, it will surely come back to haunt you.
Think of someone selling a snapshot or original graphic character, granting all rights, unlimited by time or type of use, to another person, not realizing that the individual represents one of the largest companies in the country. That company could then use the image/graphic as the main thrust of it's multi-million $ adv campaign utilizing TV commercials, point of sale purchase displays, packaging, billboards, print ads in magazines/papers & so on. Those uses could literally be worth MILLIONS to the creator IF he had LICENSED the use specifically for what was intended rather than giving it away not even having a clue as what would happen with it. Really unbelieveable? Yes, but it does happen - it's a reason for ALL creatives to learn what copyright means. It's also a reason to avoid any "contests" that state in their rules that the entry "becomes the property of" the people running the contest - many scams are designed to get work for free instead of buying it.
Second, copyright notice - This is not required by copyright law but it is recommended to notify anyone viewing your property that you own it and claim rights as the copyright holder. This is why most professional creatives have fairly strong copyright notices on their websites & their printed promotional materials.
Third, "but it's free domain/on the net/just a sketch not marked as copyright" -- WRONG - you can just about plan that every visual graphic/photo/video (not to mention writings, music recordings, etc.) IS a copyright protected work and that you SHOULD NOT copy it even to play with especially if you are going to be sharing your DERIVITIVE version with others.
Fourth, DERIVITIVE works are ANY works that are made by taking someone elses original (that cartoon drawing, label graphic, photo, etc.) and making changes to it (apply filters, use in collage, bend, distort, etc). There are very specific rules regarding derivitive works including the percentage of "identifiability to the original work". In general, if you can tell AT ALL that any portion of a work you create which began as a copy of anothers work still looks like that original work, you could be in trouble for making the derivitive without the permission of the copyright holder.
Fifth, Enforcement of copyright - is very difficult if you do not register your creative works with the US Copyright Office. Lawyers fees can be so high as to prohibit actually forcing someone to stop infringing on your work if there was not a registration. With registration, the infringer has to be pay your attorney's fees AND up to $150,000 punitive damages if found guilty. So registration is good for stuff you want to retain ownership of & control over it's use.
Sixth, Fair Use - Copyright law says that others can use your creative works for the purposes of demonstration, education & general reporting of newsworthy events to the public. They may not however, use your works to make commercial gain. For example, for my photography, I allow my personal portrait clients to display my images on their PERSONAL website but if they were to display on a COMMERCIAL site designed to promote sales of any product or service, they would be infringing on my copyright because I charge for commercial use and that is a separate charge from the original print purchase. (Of course any yahoo on the web can go steal my image from that private site.... and do who knows what :-(
A COUPLE OTHER POINTS:
Professional and Hobbyist - The pro must sell his work as print, web or other tangible products and license the use of his work for print/web/clothing/etc. to others in order to make a living usually targeting several different markets & with different types of products/services to make a go of it. The hobbyist may chose to make a side income from his creative works by doing the same as the pro OR may choose to share his works with others just for the fun/learning/community of it. It seems that here there are many hobbyists and many pros and many in both categories. That's where the line gets blurred and that's why it is so important for each of you to understand copyright, what is at stake for yourself & others, and to decide how you want to consider your own works in terms of sharing downloads.
Credit - well, honestly, it just doesn't enter into copyright EXCEPT that it is courteous to acknowledge a contributor who agreed to give you something of value. And it is is proper to adhere to the terms of use given and, of course, illegal not to follow contractual terms stipulating that credit must be given. In the pro's world, getting a credit line for your work is fine but it DOES NOT pay the mortgage. Many just starting out will accept a credit in lieu of payment but they don't last long doing that unless they have a day job or a trust fund. Some will require a credit to help build their recognition as a creator amongst the audience. Some will require a credit line to partially offset the really poor low rates paid for work by many publications (I'm talking about photography & articles here).
All that said, I think everyone offering "freebies" should: 1.) work to understand copyright as best they can - a few of my favorite copyright links are on my website, 2.) really consider what their reason is for giving freebies, 3.) fully & completely disclose their terms of use before a visitor reaches the download button, and 4.) expect that some people will not honor their terms of use and will even steal from them.
It is impossible to stop internet theft of intellectual property (yep, that's what your objects & presets & photos are) but you can choose not to share the really valuable stuff, mark your possessions well, hope for the best and just know that everyone has their stuff stolen & used improperly at one time or another. It's always upsetting when it happens but I see no end in sight. It's just a matter of how you look at it and how you decided what you would put at risk and for what reason.
OK, that's my $1.50 US for tonight. Haven't been around much with my busy work schedule just now but I guess I made up for it with this one! LOL
Kathleen
Captive Spirit
"Capturing the Essence. . .
for Business or Pleasure"
www.captivespirit.com
ML, you have my permission to archive that post anywhere you'd like on PIRC if you think it would be a good reference for members. Just please in it's entirity and with credit.
I'd also like to mention that the most comprehensive site on copyright is of course the US Govt's Office of Copyright site here: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/ and that there are many others out there - just be careful as not ALL the copyright websites are accurate. Stick with Duke Law School & other law schools, websites of or written by intellectual property attorneys to be sure what you are reading is really a good interpretation of the law.
Copyright© MaryLou White.
This document may not be translated, duplicated, redistributed or otherwise appropriated.
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