Tips for Business Owners: Document the Transfer, Assignment, or License of Your Copyrights
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Oct 11, 2018 in Copyrights
The second you create an original work, you own the copyright for that work. It does not need to be registered for you to have ownership. It is your intellectual property. But what if you want someone else to have control over the copyright? Or maybe you want to license some of the rights so someone else can use the asset? How does that work? Does the U.S. Copyright Office have some kind of special […]
Continue ReadingTips for Business Owners: Understand How Work Made for Hire Impacts Your Intellectual Property
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Oct 4, 2018 in Copyrights
Understanding and maximizing your company’s intellectual property (IP) assets, which include trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets, is crucial as you operate and expand your business. This knowledge will help you identify and pursue remedies if someone uses your IP assets without authorization. Your IP assets can also help establish the value of your company when taking out a loan, partnering with another company, or selling your business. Conduct an audit to determine what intellectual […]
Continue ReadingNo, a Monkey Cannot Sue for Copyright Infringement
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney May 24, 2018 in Copyrights
It’s a question that has been on everyone’s mind: can a monkey own the copyright to its own selfie? A recent case set out to find the answer. The plaintiff was Naruto, a crested macaque living in an Indonesian reserve. The defendant was David Slater, a photographer who left his camera unattended, only to have Naruto pick it up and snap some (pretty adorable) selfies. So, who owns the copyright to those images? The People […]
Continue ReadingCan I Copy and Distribute an Article I Was Featured In?
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney May 3, 2018 in Copyrights
If you or your company have been featured in an article, you probably want to share it with the world. That’s understandable. But you must be careful how you do it. You do not automatically have the right to make copies and distribute an article just because you were featured or quoted in it. That is true even if the entire article is about you. You still need to get permission from the author or […]
Continue ReadingCan I Use This Downloaded Image on My Blog Post?
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Mar 1, 2018 in Copyrights
Many people incorrectly assume that they have the right to use any image that they can find on the internet. For example, they may have done a quick Google image search to find a photo to accompany a blog post. However, those images are still covered by copyright. Even though you can easily download them from the internet, you must secure permission to lawfully use them. It is not enough to simply list the source […]
Continue ReadingCan I Copy Just a Little Bit of This Copyright Protected Work?
Crystal Broughan, Intellectual Property Attorney Feb 1, 2018 in Copyrights
It’s true that courts can dismiss infringement cases where the alleged use is considered de minimis, which means it was so insignificant that the court would not decide on the case. However, don’t let this trick you into believing you can copy a little bit of a copyright protected work and get away with it. There is no magic amount of content or number of words that you can copy lawfully. The use of just […]
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