Where creative professionals come to learn about the law so they can create with confidence.

8 Copyright for Artists in Business: the USPS gets Schooled, Again

Which comes first, the art or the business? Many artists work to turn their creative abilities into a business. But sometimes it’s the business that turns out to be creative. In either case, copyright protects the business by protecting the art.

Trademarks help customers find you in the crowd. It’s an integral part of your brand, the promise you make to your customers. A good trademark is a powerful business asset. This is how they work.

Did the NRA make fair use of Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate sculpture? Or is its inclusion in an NRA promotional video an infringement? Fair use could decide the case of Kapoor v. NRA.

As the author of a creative work, you are the one who owns copyright to it unless you are an employee or the work is for hire. If you own the company, you can choose whether to own the rights or assign them to the company. Here’s how to make that decision.

Copyright protection for blogs can be efficient, effective, and affordable with a few simple tweaks to your website. That, plus an understanding of how the Copyright Office handles online work, will give you the protection you need.

Can you confidently send a manuscript to editors and beta readers without the worry that your ideas will be stolen or your work infringed? There are ways to protect unpublished writing. And it’s easier than you think.

Do you need permission to incorporate someone else’s work into your own? Or have you transformed their work in a way that makes it fair use?

Deciding whether and when to invest time and resources to protect creative work can be a challenge. If you find yourself in any one of these three situations, you need to take action.

A copyright can be your golden ticket. There are unlimited ways to license your rights to create multiple revenue streams if you know what your rights are.