Basic Copyright: Listen up!
This is a summary of a talk by a lawyer specialised in copyright that I’ve been allowed to pass on. He’s that kind of guy who knows everything there is to know about copyright and what you can and can’t do. The talk centered around creative work and especially the role of copyright on the Internet.
Copyright isn’t something you can get, it’s something you have. Your work is protected by copyright internationally. While there are some differences in certain countries, copyright is overall protecting creators everywhere around the world and across borders.
Copyright protects all kinds of work: art, music, photography, design and so forth. It doesn’t require a watermark or anything like that (although many creatives use it to be sure it’s not stolen for commercial purposes).
It is not permitted to use someone else’s work unless otherwise is stated in text. Some creators make their work free but you have to prove this with a license or alike. It’s also your responsibilty to know whether the license is personal, commercial or both before using it.
Moral rights are important and means that you have the right to be credited for your work. Doesn’t matter where, how or when: if they don’t credit you, it’s copyright infringement.
Copyright is valid regardless of where you see it, including the Internet. Putting original work online does not cancel copyright and it’s not an argument you can use if you take other people’s work and put it online without credit. You’re still infringing copyright if you don’t credit and/or pay the creator for using their work.
This rule also includes fan art, even if people say otherwise. If it’s a piece made by you, it’s still protected by copyright. Fan art does not cancel copyright either (I can’t stress this enough because the lawyer didn’t even let me finish my question before he said: “That’s bullshit and they can’t; it’s still copyright infringement”. REMEMBER THAT.)
As a fan artist, it’s your responsibility to avoid copyright infringement as well. Most big companies don’t care about fan art as long as you’re not making money of it. It’s your own fault if you make money from fan art and they sue you.
Copyright protects all of your work from beginning to end. It’s not just the finished piece that’s protected: sketches, concept art and alike are protected by copyright as well.
It is completely legal to sue people for infringing your work. If they don’t credit you and refuse to do so and/or remove your work, you can sue them. It doesn’t matter how they do it: everything from putting it on their blog without credits to downright reselling it counts as infringement.
The main problem with copyright isn’t really whether or not the copyright is valid: it’s how it’s handled in different countries. EU protects creators across the countries that are members but it often requires a lawyer from the same country as the person infringing your rights.
Make sure it pays off to make a case. For the most part, creatives just want to stop people/companies from sharing their work without permission. If they refuse, you can threathen them with a case. If they resell your work, you can most definitely make a case. You can also require compensation depending on the problem.
People/companies don’t always take individuals seriously but they do with lawyers and associations. For the most part they just don’t want to deal with all the paperwork and the money it will cost them, thus they just give up right away. Not a guarantee but it works in most cases.
Ideas are not protected by copyright. If two persons accidentally make a piece similar to each other, they can’t sue because ideas don’t have rights like finished work. It only counts when someone directly copies the work you’ve made. The only way you can protect an idea is to take out patent for it (and even then the idea has to meet certain standards to be protected).
Tracing, reproducing and reselling original work is also illegal. This should be obvious by now. If you trace or reproduce for the sake of practice, you have to credit the original creator, otherwise they’re able to sue.
If the piece is created by two persons or more, the copyright applies to all of them. This means that one person can’t just sell it or hand over the rights to someone else without the other creators’ permission.
If you make a commission for someone, they only get a license (unless you agree otherwise). This means that the work isn’t owned by the person who wants the commission. It still belongs to the original creator, must be sourced when shown to others, and can’t be modified or resold.
If you make design work (for example a logo) for someone else, you have to make a contract stating the rules of use. This is freestyle because it’s up to you. Some questions you can ask: does is apply to only this work or future works? Do they only get a license or do you give away the work with its rights? These are just suggestions but it’s a good idea to have on paper so that you can look back at it in case of a dispute.
Beware of social media! Some sites, like Facebook, have rules that apply when you are a member. If you upload your original work there, Facebook technically owns it and can use it however they please as long as they do it it within Facebook as a website.
Always document infringement of copyright. If you have to make a case out of it or just want someone to remove your work, it’s a good idea to make screencaps of the problem and save any e-mails if you communicate with the person/company in question.
As a general rule, your work is protected when you’re alive and 70 years after your death. So yeah, even when dead, people can’t use your work right away!
Final note: This is NOT something I just made up, it is the LAW. These are the current rules and laws in 2016 and if you don’t believe me, you can ask the lawyer himself.
