A copyright notice, strategically placed on literary, musical, or artistic work, serves as a warning to potential plagiarizers. A copyright notice consists of the word “Copyright” or its symbol, ©, the year the work was created or first published, and the full name of the copyright owner. Example: © 2013 John Doe. For HTML pages, use the HTML number code ©; to insert a copyright notice. Example: <p>© 2013 John Doe</p>.

The copyright notice should be placed where it can be easily seen. Placing a copyright notice on a piece of work isn’t absolutely necessary to claim copyright infringement, but it is in the owner’s best interest to use this symbol as a warning. Original work can be further protected by registering it with the U.S. Copyright Office:

U.S. Copyright Office

101 Independence Ave. S.E.

Washington, D.C. 20559-6000

(202) 707-3000 or 1-877-476-0778 (toll free)

www.copyright.gov

Registering an artistic work requires filing an application with the Copyright Office and accompanying it with two visual representations, in printed for digital form, of the work being registered. There is a $65 (£40) nonrefundable fee for paper registration and a $35 (£21) non-refundable fee for electronic filing. Application forms can be found online at www.copyright.gov/forms. The work becomes registered on the date that all the required elements for registration are received by the U.S. Copyright Office.

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Older artistic creations, which are no longer protected by copyright, fall into a category called “public domain,” and can be used by anyone without obtaining permission or paying a fee. Uncredited or anonymous works are no longer protected by copyright beyond 95 years after the date of their publication or 120 years after their creation. Works credited to an artist or author are no longer protected beyond 70 years after the creator’s death.

TRANSFERRING RIGHTS

Transferring a copyright means granting permission to another to use or publish the work on a temporary basis. Some common types of transfer rights include the following:

First rights: The work is leased for one use where it is published for the first time.

One-time rights: The work is leased for one use, but there is no guarantee that the buyer is the first to have published the work.

Exclusive rights: The leaser retains the right to use or publish the work exclusively in their industry. With an arrangement of this type, an artistic work that appears in a magazine may not appear in another magazine, however it could be used on a greeting card.

Reprint rights: The leaser is given the right to use or publish the work after it has appeared elsewhere. Also called serial rights.

Promotion rights: The leaser is given the right to use the work for promotional purposes. This type of agreement is often tacked onto another rights contract. For instance, an agreement with a greeting card company to use an illustration on a greeting card would include a promotion rights clause giving the company the right to use the same illustration in its promotion of the card.

CREATIVE COMMONS LISCENSING

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that provides free copyright licenses to help creative professionals give others the ability to share, use, or build upon the worked they have created. A Creative Commons license gives designers the flexibility to share their work without relegating it to the public domain. The standardized Creative Commons license allows designers to set up copyright terms based on the conditions of their choice.

What can Creative Commons do for designers?

Designers can use Creative Commons to set up legal notices that permit others to use their content. For example, a designer can use Creative Commons license to set specific conditions for use for an infographic designed as a personal project. By using a Creative Commons license, any person, or organization, can use that specifc infographic, without permission, as long as the infographic is used in a manner that meets the conditions the designer outlined in the license.

Creative Commons License Types:

There are six major Creative Commons licenses that can be used when publishing work. At a minimum each license retains copyright, attributes authorship, applies worldwide and lasts for the duration of the works copyright.

Attribution (CC-BY)

The most accommodating license type, the Attribution license allows others to distribute, edit, and improve a designer’s original work, even for commercial reasons, as long as the original designer is credited for the original work.

Attribution Share Alike (BY-SA):

The Attribution Share Alike license type allows others to edit and improve upon a designer’s work, even for commercial reasons, as long as the original designer is given credit, and the new creation is licensed under the same terms.

Attribution No Derivatives (BY-ND)

The Attribution No Derivatives license allows commercial and non-commercial redistribution as long as the original designer is given credit, and no changes are made to the original work.

Attribution Non-Commercial (CC-BY-NC)

The Attribution Non-Commercial license allows others to edit and improve upon a designer’s work non-commercially as long as the original designer is given credit. However, any new work created from the designer’s original work will not be licensed under the same terms.

Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

The Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license allows others to edit and improve upon a designer’s work non-commercially as long as the original designer is given credit and any new work created from the original is licensed under the same terms. Any new work created form the original must also be non-commercial in use.

Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

The most restrictive of the Creative Commons licenses, Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives allows others to non-commercially redistribute a designer’s original work. It is often referred to as “free-advertising” because it allows others to distribute a designer’s work as long as the designer is credited and the work is unchanged.

TRADEMARKS AND SERVICE MARKS

A trademark is a word(s), phrase(s), symbol(s), or design(s) that distinguishes the source of a product from one originator from those of another. A service mark is the same as a trademark except that it distinguishes the source of a service. An infringement occurs when somebody uses or mimics an existing trademark or service mark to represent another product or service so that others are misled into believing they are purchasing the original product or service. It is not necessary to register a logo or mark. A user can establish rights with a mark based on its legitimate use. However, owning a federal trademark registration has advantages:

1. Providing legal presumption of the registrant’s ownership of the mark and exclusive right to use the mark and the ability to bring legal action concerning misuse of the mark.

2. The right to obtain registration in foreign countries and ability to file the U.S. registration with the U.S. Customs Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods.

3. Ability to display notice to the public of claim of ownership through the use of the ®symbol.

Users can use the symbols ™ (trademark) and ^SM (service mark) to alert the public to their claim of rights to a mark, regardless of whether an application has been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). However, the federal registration symbol ®can only be used after the USPTO actually registers a mark and not while an application is pending. The registration symbol can only be used with the mark on, or in connection with, the goods and/or services listed in the federal trademark registration.

Registering a trademark or service mark requires filing an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

USPTO at Commissioner for Trademarks

2900 Crystal Drive

Arlington, VA 22202-3514

(703) 308-9000 (Trademark Assistance Center)

uspto.gov/trademarks/teas/Index.jsp

LEGAL RESOURCES

Although not required, using a private trademark attorney for legal advice in filing an application may help you avoid many potential pitfalls. Additionally, several free legal resources may be helpful in the process. You may also consult free legal resources pertaining to your specific state of residence.

List of free legal resources

Nolo (nolo.com)

Online library of do-it-yourself legal books and software for simple legal matters.

Voluteer Lawyers for the Arts (vlany.org)

A New York–based organization that offers volunteer legal services to arts organizations and individual artists nationwide.