Why You Should Send a Cease-and-Desist Letter if Someone Stole Your Copyright If you’re an artist, a writer, a songwriter, or a musician, you may already be familiar with obtaining copyright protection for your work. In fact, as soon as your work is recorded in a tangible form, it’s automatically copyrighted in the U.S. If you want to ensure that …
The Importance of Protecting Your Intellectual Property in Illinois
As any innovator or creator knows, protecting your intellectual property is vitally important to your success. Doing so can help ensure that your creations and hard work are protected. The first step in protecting your intellectual property in Illinois is to be informed of the different types of ways you can protect your intellectual property. The next step is to …
Ask Stephanie: What Copyright Issues Affect Agriculture Photographers and Videographers?
A copyright gives the creator of a literary, artistic, musical, or other creative work the sole right to publish and sell that work. This work includes photographs and in fact according to the Federal Copyright Act of 1976, photographs are copyright protected the moment they are created. It is not necessary to formally register a copyright, however it may be …
4 Social Media Mistakes that May Put Your Company’s IP at Risk
Being active on social media is hardly a choice anymore for small to medium sized businesses—it’s a given. After all, your customers are there. Connecting with your target audience in the social web can boost your brand and level the playing field between you and big competitors with larger advertising budgets. But before you rush out to tweet a deal …
Ask Cari: Can I Copyright that Recipe?
Dear Cari, I am writing a cookbook and developing some of my own recipes. Do I have copyright protection with my recipes? Ann. M. Dear Ann: To answer your question, one must first look at what can be copyrighted. Under the U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 102, copyright applies only to “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible …
Overview of Copyrights
Copyright is a form of intellectual property protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. Any expression, however, once written down in unique form, qualifies for copyright protection. Copyright protection comes into being as soon as an expression is recorded in some manner (in …