January 1, 2019 marks a significant date in US copyright law. On this “Public Domain Day 2019” thousands of works from 1923 previously protected under US copyright laws became public domain. Duke Law’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain reviews “Public Domain Day 2019” and has similar archives going back to 2010. You may […]
I recently acquired copyright permission for a client to use a photograph of a mural painted on the wall of a restaurant. On first consideration, my client didn’t even factor into his publication plan what action might be required for the legal use of the mural. At the time the painting was conceived and created, […]
Considering quoting song lyrics in your book? A primary question to consider when quoting song lyrics is the importance of the lyrics to your message. If they are important, do you need permission from their copyright owners to use them in your work? It is often wise to clear copyright on even a line or two of song […]
Territories – Its Place in Copyright Compliance As Sally Ride once said, “All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary.” If you have recently entered the publishing business, possibly as a self-publisher, a key decision you will have to make is in which territories you plan to distribute your works. Questions regarding sales and distribution can be […]
For the last three weeks we have been covering the use of secondary sources. We talked about avoiding a halt in production of our work or a DMCA takedown notice due to an unwise use of secondary sources. We talked about how and where to look for items in copied content that may be from […]
As we have pointed out in Part I and II of Secondary Sources, it is wise to seek out secondary sources in a search for original ones, but remember that often these sources will not serve an author in the same way original sources do—in any attempt to comply with copyright law. Below are some […]
More and more, we are seeing our own clients inadvertently make a use of secondary sources that constitutes infringement. This occurs most often today in uses of material obtained from websites, blogs, and aggregators. Publishing content from the Huffington Post, photos taken from Pinterest, text taken from Facts on File, and still images taken from […]
Word to the Wise: Keep in mind ownership issues when tempted to copy from secondary sources found online or in print sources. When collecting items and quotes for their blog, article or book, authors may be tempted to use what are called secondary sources. Secondary Sources Many times if they don’t take the extra time to […]
In deciding on photos to include in our blog, our memoir, on our social networking sites, or on the cover of our historical novel or how-to book, we should always consider the following points in determining the wisdom of our choices. Buying an original Ansel Adams photograph, paying a photographer to take a photo of […]
Do you want to protect and control the use of the content on your website or blog that you have worked so hard to create? Be sure to include a copyright notice. Educate One way to ensure that would-be infringers think twice about taking your content is to include your copyright notice in a very […]