For More Information
For more information on what can or cannot be protected by copyright, go to the official U.S. Copyright Office website: www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wwp. For additional information on trademarks, go to the official U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website:www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/basic/trade_defin.htm.
Lesson 2: What Are the Rights of a Copyright Owner?
A copyright is a bundle of exclusive rights the law grants to authors and creators of original works of art to encourage them to continue creating. Although copyright owners (or copyright holders as they are sometimes called) may have the right to sue to protect their rights, the real benefit of having these coveted intellectual property rights is that owners of copyright can make money by selling, distributing, licensing, and renting their work to others. As a result, their businesses and their brands become more valuable.
A copyright holder has the right to
Reproduce. Copyright holders have the exclusive, but not the absolute right to print, reprint, copy, or duplicate their work, which includes making photocopies, downloading music, and duplicating photographs.
Distribute. The owners of copyright have the right to sell, license, lease, or rent their work to anyone they choose—for a fee, if they like.
Display. This includes posting copyright-protected work on a website, in a gallery, on a blog, on a screen, or on a display board on the street if not restricted by law.
Perform. This includes giving a speech, singing a song, or reciting a poem.
Sell or license rights. This includes giving someone the right to make photocopies, play music, or make a copy of a cartoon to use as an overhead. This also shows up in the area of publishing. When you publish your book through a publisher, for example, you give that publisher the right to duplicate, distribute, sell, and display your work.
Create a derivative work. This includes converting an article into a book, translating a book into many languages, or turning a play into a movie.
Take a moment to answer the following questions, exploring your rights as a copyright holder. You may be surprised at the answers.
Question 1
You've written an article for a trade magazine, and you want the magazine to have the right to use that article just once, and only in the print version of the magazine, not online. Do you have the right to restrict the magazine publisher from putting your article on its website? Can you prevent the magazine from selling online rights to another magazine or newspaper? Can you limit the publisher's use to a single use?
Answer
As the copyright holder, you call the shots. You have the right to duplicate, display, distribute, perform, sell, or license your work, and you have the right to give or not give other people permission to do the same. In authorizing someone to use your work, you can limit the use in whatever way you desire. You're the boss of your creative work of art or authorship. Just know that as in any negotiating situation the more influence you bring to the table, the more leverage and control you will have. For example, if you submit an article to a popular national magazine, it's likely, unless you are a celebrity writer or have something the magazine really wants, that the magazine will require you to give up all or most of your rights.
How much you give away is always a business judgment decision. If a publisher wants the right to publish your work in its magazine and online and if being published by that particular magazine is important to you, you may decide to give up certain rights for the perceived long-term benefits. You get to decide whether the offer on the table is worth what you are being asked to give up. And if you don't like the terms, you can take your copyright-protected work somewhere else.