I’ve been thinking a bit recently about copyrights. What is a copyright, and how do you get one? Why is it essential to have Copyright? On the other hand, what happens if you use another person’s work for your work? Is that stealing? Could you get a hefty fine for it? Today I will discuss everything I have found out so far on the subject of the Copyright.
What is Copyright?
A Copyright is something as simple as writing something you have thought of down, drawing a picture, taking a photo or even making some music. Once available for the public to see, you automatically have a Copyright for that piece of work.
What isn’t a Copyright?
It is not Copy Writing. Copywriting is something completely different. It is where you have a product you want to sell, so you write about the benefits of that product as a way of advertising.
What can you do to strengthen the fact that the copyright is yours
It is essential to label your work with a c inside a circle. Most novels have this on one of their pages before the story commencing. Some also have a spiel saying it is their work and should not be copied or used without the author’s permission. It is a good deterrent reminding another person to be careful with how they handle your work.
To make your work even better protected usually, you can register it in your own country. I think most countries such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the USA probably have similar systems. For a small fee, you send them two copies of your work claiming it as your work and this will benefit you if someone does steal your work. It will be easier to detect that yes, this was your piece of work, and you can charge the other person for using it. The registered Copyright usually means that the work you have produced is your property for your lifetime plus an additional 50-70 years depending on which country it is.
What if I unintentionally steal another’s work?
You can get a nasty letter with a fine saying you owe $800 or so.
What if I get a letter like this?
From what I can gather, it is best not to pay straight away. Immediately take down any information you have used and delete it if you can, then look into precisely what the accuser is saying you have done wrong. It could be that they are just trying to make money from you and you don’t need to pay that $800 after all. Probably best to get some.
How do I avoid getting a letter like this?
You are the best in the first place to avoid stealing stuff. If you want to use a picture on your work and you google one. It is best to use something like Microsoft publisher to filter out those pictures which permit you to publish. I have used an image on Canva for one of my subjects on my blog. Here are three other sites where you can get free pictures:
If you take a photo you want to protect; you should be able to put a c in a circle in the corner of it which hopefully will deter others from taking it.
It would help if you were careful when quoting songs in your work as that could be a Copyright issue. From what I can gather if you mention the music but don’t write any of its lyrics down, this should be all right. Otherwise, you need to find the songwriter and ask if you can use their words.
These are just some issues I have found while looking into Copyrights. I have decided I need to be mindful of these issues and there are plenty more.
