Copyright information

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Copyrights are legal property rights, called "Intellectual Property." These rights are given by the government in order to give control to anyone who makes a creative THING. Every time technology makes it possible to create a new kind of artwork, a new right is also created. Some of the things that artists have rights for are listed below.

Books	Poetry	Magazines	Newspapers
Letters	Sound Recordings	Music	Lyrics
Manuscripts	Scripts	Web Sites	Plays
Speeches	Pantomimes	Articles	Photographs
Dramatic Works	Movies	Films	Videos
Cartoons	Drawings	Illustrations	Games
Website design	Sculptures	Architectural Works	Multimedia Creations
Recipe Instructions	Animations	Computer Graphics	Choreographic Works
Charts	Maps	Software	Databases

Music Copyrights CLICK HERE

Copyrights are about the ownership of the artistic expression of an idea but not the idea itself or facts in the creative work. For example:

To be an artistic expression the thing has be:

it must be original not copied.

it must be expressed using some material such as
paper, electronic disc, sculptural material, video, photograph

it must be creative such as a selective list (the telephone book is not selective)

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As soon as it is created, a person or a company that has rights to decide what happens with it. The copyright symbol is just a way of reminding people about the owner's rights. The registration of a copyright at the Office of Copyright at the Library of Congress, gives an owner of the art rights a stronger legal argument if they have to go to Court.

Copyrights are really many different property rights. These rights can be sold separately by the original artist or company. The original artist or owner is called the "author". These rights make all creative work valuable beyond just the sale of art work. Since being creative is valuable, the copyright and patent laws are made to encourage more people to be artistic or creative and make our world better.

the right to copy the art work

the right to display or perform the work

the right to distribute the work
This means to sell the art work to other businesses and customers.

the right to use the work to make other things using the work.
These are called "Derivative works". For example, making key chains, t-shirts, t.v. shows based on a book, or making toys based on a story.

Intellectual Property lawyers fight to protect copyrights in the U.S. Courts. Intellectual Property Laws are VERY complicated. If you want to copyright, trademark, or patent something you might want to talk to an attorney. Have you ever seen what a law looks like? If you would like to see what the 1998 Sony Bono copyright law looks like, CLICK HERE.

DO YOU WANT TO COPYRIGHT YOUR WEBSITE? Go to: www.loc.gov/copyright
Order by e-mail Circular '66
"Copyright Registration for Online Works"
or Fax on Demand 202-707-2600
Or Write to:
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
Public Information Office, LM-401
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington D.C. 20559-6000

When an author makes an agreement with a Publisher or a company to sell a book, for example, the author usually sells some of these rights to the Publisher so the art can be marketed. Sometimes there are restrictions on the rights sold or "transferred" away. The rights can be given away partially, such as for a certain amount of time or for a certain country.

Who Can Claim The Right To A Copyright?
Not everyone can claim rights to art. If someone makes a piece of art, the artist automatically has copyrights. The art or writing is owned by the artist but an artist has stronger legal rights in Court if the copyright is registered at the Office of Copyrights. A copyright helps an artist keep control of artwork wherever it is used with less fear that someone will take it illegally.
Minors or people under the age of 16 can claim copyrights. But, in some places there are laws against it, meaning minors can not claim the full right for a copyright.

Copyrights or Intellectual Property is owned by the the person who
created the art work EXCEPT when:

The work is created by an employee of a company. This is called a "work made for hire".

When an artist is asked to make art work for a company and signs a "work for hire agreement".
This is called a "commissioned work".

The artist sells all of the copyrights to a business. The artists should still be credited on the artwork.

Sometimes a group of people create artwork. The group is called "co-authors".

How Long Does Copyright Headline? Most kids I know don't even know what headline means.
A "Headline" means how long a copyrights protection lasts.
A copyright's protection lasts from the time the art is made until 70 years after the author or artist's death. Works created on or after January 1, 1978 that are eligible for a copyright are automatically protected.

To learn about the History of the Library of Congress CLICK HERE

THE COPYCAT'S TOUR	Computer #1 says: Comp USA? Can I call you Comp USA? Computer #2 says: NO, THAT'S ALREADY COPYRIGHTED!!
	Almost everything you see is copyrighted, even your clothing! On the next page you can find information on our copyright world!