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Copyright Law
Overview
According to the copyright laws of the United States, a person has a “common law” copyright to a creative expression once it has been expressed in a “fixed medium.” However, should a person require a copyright registration because he/she wishes to secure protection prior to marketing the song, transcript, computer software, or any other such creative expression, the skilled attorneys at Greenberg & Lieberman will be able to complete the task. Whether your creative expression is a literary work, visual art, performing art, sound recording, web design, or anything in between, Greenberg & Lieberman offers expert copyright registration services.
Advantages of Copyright Registration:
A registered copyright evidences the date of creation and places others on notice as to your rights to the creation. A copyright filed today will last the creator's lifetime plus 70 years, of if a "work for hire," the copyright lasts 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.
What can be protected by copyright law?
A copyright protects you from having others reproduce your original work, whether or not it is published. It applies to all kinds of original expression, including the following: poetry, movies, plays, musicals, music, lyrics, dances, pantomimes, computer software, maps, architecture, art, sculpture, photography, video recordings of any kind, sound recordings of any kind, original works of any kind that appear on your website (see below), free software and freeware.
Who has the right to copyright protection?
Only the author or creator of the work (a photographer or painter, for instance) has the right to copyright the work, with the following exceptions:
When can websites be copyrighted?
In general, if you have original work on the web page, you can copyright it, even if the page itself cannot be copyrighted. However, the copyrightable content must be identified as such and received in the U.S. Copyright Office, along with an application form and filing fees. The application cannot include already published material or material in the public domain that already exists on the web page.
What cannot be protected by copyright?
A copyright does NOT protect ideas, systems or methods of operation, but it may protect the books, documents and other items in which these things appear. It also does not protect a slogan or logo. Some of these things may be protected by trademark or patent law.
Copyright Items Our Firm Can Help With
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Poor Man's Copyright
- Creative Arts
- Copyright Policies
- Project Recordings
- Foreign Copyright Laws
- Patent Protection
- U.S. Copyright Law
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act
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