Copyright laws...part one

The basics:

Did you know that the moment you publish, i.e upload it to the internet or in print, you are covered by copyright laws? A copyrights is automatic when your work is created. It just has to be in a hard copy form, and not just in your head. You have more protection if you register your it officially though. But either way, if someone copies your work off the internet without giving you credit, you have legal recourse.

Minors can hold copyrights also. The only limitation is on selling their copyright as they are not of a legal age to make a contract. So if you are under 18, make sure your parents do any dealings when it comes to buying and selling copyrighted material.

If you are an employee of a company, they hold rights to anything you make on work time or for your employer. What that means is, don't use your work computer to work on your music, program, or any other project. You might lose all rights to it if you do.

What is not covered: names or titles. Anything that has not been “recorded.” Ideas in your head. We have all had them. I great idea that then someone else comes out with a year later. I thought of Amazons Whispersink years ago! But I never did anything with it. Lesson learned.

In the next article I will cover specific copyright concepts like how it effects your YouTube videos or website pictures. 

Citation: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf