The copyright was originally conceptualized as a mechanism to protect the rights of authors and artists. In this spirit, the Constitution of the United States contains a clause which states that Congress has the power to secure for authors and inventors the exclusive...

Most writers, inventors and artists have come to know the importance of protecting their work with a copyright right after they have finished with it. Although technically an original work is intrinsically under copyright upon its creation, obtaining a registered...

At one time or another, every consumer’s attention has been caught by a notice in the pages of a book or the casing of a DVD saying all rights reserved. This statement is so commonplace people hardly give it a second thought. (...)

The enclosed C or copyright symbol © is one that is seen so often people hardly even notice it anymore. It is, however, an important, internationally recognized sign and its presence has implications for the general public. (...)

Anyone interested in protecting his or her work today would look for a copyright website. From such an online portal, you can find out all there is to know about copyrights and what the copyright law provides. (...)

In this day and age, it would be safe to assume that most people have seen and read notices informing the public of the copyright protection of certain items. Such a notice is called a copyright statement; it declares that the item on which it is written is protected...

The Copyright Act of 1976 defined the rights of copyright holders and how long these rights would be in effect. It also articulated exceptions to copyright restrictions based on what is referred to as the doctrine of fair use. (...)

Because of modern technology and the internet, issues regarding intellectual property and copyright protection have become exceedingly broad and complex. As a result, a community of copyright experts has grown to meet the burgeoning problems that have come up in the...

Copyright law has become a fixture in modern life because copies of songs, movies and writings can be easily made, mass produced and sold without the permission of their creators. While the usual image of a pirate is an outlaw who sails the seas to raid and loot...

Today technology has made it very easy to make copies of books, tapes, DVDs and other creative works. Burning a CD, photocopying pages from a book, making recordings of television programs – all these activities have become ordinary chores that most people perform...

What’s up with iTunes? Even today, some people aren’t entirely clear on the legality of iTunes and other MP3 player programs. It basically comes down to this: If you buy the MP3’s in your iTunes library, it is one hundred percent legal. (...)

Knowing Enough about Intellectual Property Law to not Lose a Lawsuit Whatever you do for a living, if you create something original, in any small way, you should know the basics of intellectual property law. (...)

Collaboration and Ownership: The Importance of Legally Binding Documents If you are working on a collaborative project with another creator or artist, you’d probably be best advised to talk some things over with them before really investing yourself into the work. (...)

Fan Fiction and other Fan Created Works We’ve probably all heard the term “fan-fiction”, or “fan fic” and most of us know exactly what the term means: Fiction written by the admirers of a copyrighted intellectual property. (...)