Copyright or Copywrong?
Have you ever wondered why there's a copyright symbol at the bottom of every page of what you post?
Copyright is a topic I've visited before (though it's been quite some years), and I feel it's something that's worth visiting again.
There is no way I can cover all of the laws in one newsletter, but I can at least give you a little information that might be useful to you, personally. Since there is a copyright symbol at the bottom of every page on this site, it's important you have at least some knowledge of what it means. (And I can give you some resources where you can find some more information.)
There is a U.S. Copyright Office - but you don't have to send work into it for it to be covered by the Copyright laws.
That's right! The reason this site can put that your work has a Copyright the moment you post it is... well, because it does! The moment something is written by you, it has a copyright, and you are at least protected in some ways.
If, however, you believe your copyright has been infringed, you will have to register with the U.S. Copyright Office before you can bring lawsuit.
But I don't live in the U.S., am I covered, too?
Believe it or not, you are! All works that are unpublished, no matter the nationality of the author, are covered in the U.S. Don't quote me on this part, because I'm not sure and I can't find anything online to verify the information, but I do believe that since this website is hosted in the U.S., that would also contribute to you being covered here. (And most of the works on this site are unpublished.)
Already published works look a little more complicated and require some kind of copyright treaty with the U.S. by the country that the work is published in. That one would also take a bit more research.
Minors can have a Copyright, too.
This means, those on this site that are under 18 - you are protected, too. People don't have the right to take your work and claim it as their own.
Can other people use my work at all if it has a Copyright?
This... is complicated. There are Fair Use laws. There is a document put out by Columbia University that might help a bit - the left column describes things that do fall under the Fair Use, and the right column describes things that do not fall under Fair Use, and therefore violate Copyright. https://copyright.columbia.edu/content/dam/copyright/Precedent%20Docs/fairuseche...
Heh, I told you it was complicated! There are two pages involved, and it provides the most clear idea of, at least, what should NOT be done over on the right side. This can help you, as well, if you intend to use someone else's work within your own.
Probably one of the most important pieces to all of this is giving credit to where it is due. If you use some of someone else's work, give them credit for it. That way, you're not claiming it as your own. If someone else asks permission to use parts of your work, ask them to give you credit. It's only right.
http://intellectual-property.lawyers.com/copyrights/Copyright-FAQ.html#25 - This site is a great source for clarification and other Copyright Law questions.
If you ever feel you want to use something that someone else has written as a part of your own work, I believe it is very important to discover what one can and cannot do with the things that they find online, in books, and even on a tossed aside and crumpled piece of notebook paper. Always be very, very careful if it is not yours.
As for protecting yourself? Remember that you can set your work to only be seen by people on this site! There are options such as, "Registered Users and Higher" which means that people who haven't posted anything, but have registered with the site, can see it along with everyone else. "Registered Authors and Higher" means that only other people who have also put their work on this site can see yours. You can restrict an item to groups, to case colors, and to status on the site if you don't want to leave it open for everyone on the internet to look at. You can even restrict an item to where only YOU can see it. Setting your Access Restrictions (section 2 when creating an item) is another way to offer a bit more protection to yourself from those who might wish to take your work. |
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Noticing Newbies: August 29, 2018 Issue [#9097]
