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Seeking legal advice online is always an iffy venture, but when it comes to copyright law the pitfalls seem to multiply.

And making a mistake when it comes to copyright can get you into serious legal and financial trouble.

You Need to Understand Copyright

If you’re an artist, writer, inventor, or other creative, it’s important to understand the basics of copyright so you can protect your work. It’s not just random strangers on the internet who’ll take and use your work because they don’t know any better. There have been plenty of cases of established brands and businesses using copyrighted works without permission.

But not all creative works can even be copyrighted.

While an original t-shirt design or graphic can be copyrighted, not everything is that straightforward. For example, did you know that the ingredients in your secret recipe can’t be copyrighted? Neither can your idea for a screenplay, your pen name, or the title of your novel.

Copyright Is Surprisingly Complex

Even creative works you’d think can be copyrighted actually can’t. While a graphic design printed on a t-shirt can be copyrighted, the t-shirt itself can’t be. Clothing designs can’t be copyrighted because it’s legally considered a “useful article” instead of an artistic expression. This leaves fashion designers especially vulnerable to design theft and knockoffs.

Then there are the grey areas, like fan fiction, where most creators could pursue copyright infringement cases but choose not to, because they understand the benefits of having a thriving community of supporters. Well, at least most of them do… Some aren’t quite so generous, such as Diana Gabaldon who thinks fan fiction is immoral, or George RR Martin who thinks fan fiction is lazy and bad. Both authors have been aggressive about protecting their copyrighted works.

Learn to Protect Your Work

How can you protect your own creative works from would-be thieves?

Check out the graphic below to see if copyright laws apply — and if not, what your other options are for protecting your work.

The Surprisingly Long List of Things that Can’t Be Copyrighted

Copyrights are a useful legal tool for writers, musicians, and artists to protect their work, but copyright isn’t applicable to everything. Here’s a closer look at what can and cannot be copyrighted — and which of those things are usually protected by trademarks or patents.

What Does Copyright Apply To?

All of the following kinds of works can be copyrighted: Audio Literature Architecture Video and film Pictures, graphics, and sculptures Music Drama Choreography Computer code

For a work to be copyrighted, it must be fixed in a physical form For example, a spontaneous dance number does not have copyright A choreographed one that is recorded on video does have copyright



What Does Copyright Not Apply To?

1. Works of original authorship that are not fixed in a tangible form If someone has an idea for a fantasy novel, for example, they cannot copyright that idea This is why there are many examples in fiction of a wise old mentor figure who comes to the hero and ushers them into a world of adventure, but only one Gandalf and Dumbledore

2. Information that is commonly known and has no original authorship For example, the statement “The sky is blue” cannot be copyrighted This also applies to: Calendars This does not refer to calendar artwork Rulers and tape measures Height/weight charts Lists and tables from public documents Telephone directories This information is considered in the public domain

3. Blank forms, including: Time cards Graph paper Diaries Address books Order forms

4. Lists of ingredients, such as recipes, formulas, or labels Things like cookbooks can sometimes be copyrighted so long as they have instructions or explanations For a cookbook to be copyrighted, the US Copyright Office requires that the recipes be accompanied by “substantial literary expression — a description, explanation, or illustration, for example” Even in these cases, the recipe itself does not have copyright

5. Individuals’ pseudonyms, such as pen or stage names

6. Product or service names

7. Business, organization, or group names

8. Domain names

9. Titles of works

10. Ideas or systems, including: Concepts, processes, or methods of operation Business practices Scientific/technical methods/discoveries Mathematical algorithms or principles But there things can be patented

11. Slogans, mottos, catch phrases, etc.

12. Data and facts The way the information is expressed can be copyrighted, but the data itself cannot be

13. Federal government works All works created by the federal US government are prohibited from being copyrighted, including: Memos Reports Rules Documents These works can even be copied, redistributed, and sold NOTE: State governments are not prohibited from copyrighting their works

14. Laws, including: Cases Constitutions Court decisions Regulations Statutes These works are considered to be in the public domain

15. Useful articles In general, things that have a utilitarian function cannot be copyrighted Clothing Automobiles Home appliances Exceptions While a building design is a “useful article,” it is also an artistic expression, and can be copyrighted Toys are not classified as having a useful function, and thus can be copyrighted



The Strange Case of Fan Fiction

Fictional characters can be protected Depending upon how distinct they are, fictional characters can be: Copyrighted Trademarked

Writers have different attitudes toward fan fiction Some writers don’t mind fan fiction J.K. Rowling — author of Harry Potter series But she doesn’t like people creating “adult” content with her characters Stephenie Meyer — author of the Twilight series Doesn’t mind fan fiction Thinks it is a waste of time for talented writers Others do mind fan fiction George R.R. Martin — author of Game of Thrones series Thinks of his characters as his children Considers fan fiction lazy and bad for writers Diana Gabaldon — author of Outlander series Thinks fan fiction is immoral Said “it makes me want to barf”

Film companies are usually tolerant of fan fiction Paramount Pictures encourages it Think fan fiction is good for publicity but still maintains much control

Regardless of the liberal attitudes of authors and publishers, all make clear that their characters are protected content

Other Ways to Protect Work

While copyright law does not apply to these works, their creators do have methods of protecting them, namely through trademark and patent laws.

Trademarks

Words, names, and symbols used to: Distinguish goods created by one company from those created by another Identify what company those goods come from

Many things can serve as trademarks, for example: Words Gmail Names Coca-Cola Symbols The Nike swoosh Designs Any combinations of the above Phrases Where’s the beef? Logos IBM Shapes The four-fingered shape of a Kit Kat bar Sounds Intel’s five-note jingle Fragrances The cherry scent of Manhattan Oil’s synthetic engine lubricants Colors Companies that have trademarked their particular shades of color include: Target → Red T-Mobile → Magenta Home Depot → Orange 3M (Post-It’s) → Canary Yellow John Deere → Green Tiffany’s → Robin’s Egg Blue AstraZeneca (Nexium) → Purple UPS → Pullman brown

For something to serve as a trademark, it must: Be distinctive Be used for commercial purposes



Patents

Patents protect inventions and machines.

To receive a patent, an item must be: New Someone else can’t have already patented the same thing Useful The invention or machine in question must have a purpose and be capable of accomplishing that purpose This is why inventors cannot secure a patent for devices like “perpetual motion machines” Non-obvious The invention or device must not be considered obvious by experts in the field

Things that can be patented: Processes and methods Living organisms (plants, animals, fungi, microbes, etc.) that have been altered for a specific purpose Machines New compounds (such as chemicals or pharmaceuticals)



While copyright law provides a way for intellectual property owners to protect their property, copyrights don’t cover everything. But between trademarks and patents, IP owners almost always have a legal way to keep their property safe.

Sources: inventors.about.com, legalzoom.com, newmediarights.org, biztaxlaw.about.com, copyright.gov, bitlaw.com, law.cornell.edu.com, brighthub.com, legalzoom.com, ibm.com, inc.com, tmsearch.uspto.gov, uspto.gov, biotech-now.org, patentlawip.com.

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