kunvay & traklight present why marketers and businesses should care about copyrights
DESCRIPTION
Reggie Solomon is the founder of Kunvay which helps freelancers, creatives and their clients transfer copyright and intellectual property ownership online to design work, photos and written content. Reggie is interested in helping creatives and businesses learn how to navigate copyright & IP rights. He successfully addressed important copyright & IP issues firsthand as a co-author of the book I Garden Urban Style and as the creator of two blogs where he regularly works with freelancers and outsourced content providers. Reggie holds a BA in political science and sociology from Yale University and a Master in Public Policy with a specialization in Business-Government policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.TRANSCRIPT
Why Marketers & Businesses Should Care
About Copyrights
presents
Reggie Solomon
Founder of Kunvay.com
Jill HowardAll
en
COO of Traklight
Use #traklightwebinar on Twitter
Why Marketers & Businesses Should Care About Copyright & IP
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Webinar Presented for: Traklight
February 18, 2014
Presentation by: Reggie Solomon
Founder, Kunvay www.kunvay.com
@reggiesolomon
Why is copyright & IP important? Why should I care?
• Using copyrighted work or IP owned by someone else without permission could put you at legal risk.
• Particularly if you or your business benefits financially from the use of copyrighted work or IP owned by someone else, the copyright & IP owner may be entitled to damages and profits you have received.
• Look no further than the movie, The Social Network, where intellectual property dispute was featured as the central conflict, as an example of why IP matters and why clarity regarding IP ownership is important. Don't suffer the fate of a Winklevoss twin.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Photo Credit: _SJP1316 by TechCrunch used under CC BY 2.0
Who should be concerned about copyright & IP ownership issues?
• Everyone should have a basic understanding of how copyright & IP work in today's knowledge economy.
• If you or your company benefits financially from the creative work you acquire from others, you should be familiar with copyright & IP basics.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Copyright & Intellectual Property 101
What is intellectual property (IP)?• Intellectual property is a broad category description that refers to the class of
intangible property created by the human mind (Examples: design work, photos, and written content, etc.)
• Intellectual property rights safeguard the rights of creators and allows creators ownership rights to their creative work.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
What is copyright?• Copyright is a form of intellectual property protection that provides creators of an
original work with a bundle of rights to exclusively control the reproduction, sell and distribution of a work.
• Essentially, this gives you as a creator the right to stop others from copying, adapting, publishing and distributing your work without your permission.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
What can be copyrighted?Creative works that are copyrighted fall under the following categories:
• Literary works• Artistic works, including graphic, pictorial and sculptural works• Musical works, including lyrics• Dramatic works, including accompanying music• Motion picture and other audio-visual works• Choreographic works• Sound recordings• Broadcasts
♫ ♪4 7
What can be copyrightedWhat this looks like to marketers and businesses
Design•Logo design•Web & mobile app design•Illustration•Ad design•Graphical user interface design•Book cover, print & packaging design•Brochure and pamphlet design
Photos•Portrait photos•Event photos•Product photos•Commercial photos•Stock photos
Written Content•Articles or blog posts•Web or marketing copy•Script writing•Technical writing•Books•Book ghostwriting•Newsletters or pamphlets•Essays or lyrics•Source code & computer scripts
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
What can’t be copyrighted?• Ideas• Facts• Typefaces and fonts• Titles, names, symbols, short phrases, slogans
©X
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
When does copyright begin?• Copyright begins the moment a work is created in a fixed and tangible form.
• If you create it, you own it – copyright is automatic.
Photo Credit: Start by jakeandlindsay used under CC BY 2.0
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
How long does copyright last?• As a general rule in the U.S. for literary and artistic works created after January 1, 1978,
copyright protection lasts for 70 years after the death of the creator.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Do I have to register my copyright?
• No, but it’s smart to do and required if you ever have to file an infringement suit.
• As a rule of thumb the more valuable a piece is to you or your brand, the more you’ll benefit from registering your work.
• You can register copyright online via the U.S. Copyright Office for $35 per registration.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Does the © symbol need to be on the work for it to enjoy copyright protection?
• No. There is no legal requirement to include the © symbol on your work.
• However it does serve as a deterrent to would-be copyright infringers and it does help others identify the copyright owner of a work. Example: © Reggie Solomon 2014
©
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Where marketers & businesses get in trouble
• Copyright infringement• Fair use• Copyright & IP: Ownership vs Licensing• Work-for-hire
Not understanding:
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Copyright Infringement• Any violation of the exclusive rights of a copyright holder constitutes copyright
infringement.
• Whenever a work is copied, reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed without the permission of the copyright owner, copyright infringement has occurred.
• To determine if a work has been infringed upon the courts of have devised the “ordinary observer” test. This test holds that if an ordinary reasonable observer could look at an original work and an alleged copy and conclude that the latter constituted a copy of the former, then copyright infringement has occurred.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Have you or has your business infringed on someone else’s copyright?
• Have you found a photo through Google Images and pasted into a post on your company’s blog?
• Have you sent a friend a PDF copy of an e-book you purchased online?
• Have you or your child traced the design of image from a magazine or book and passed the traced work off as your own?
• These are all common ways people and employees infringe on the copyright & IP rights of others without really thinking about the impact and potential consequences of their actions.
• Copy infringement impacts livelihoods because it does not allow creators to benefit from the fruits of their labor. In addition there can be tangible financial penalties for using copyrighted work without permission. A copyright holder could be entitled to profits made from unauthorized use of their work in addition to other damages.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Copyright Infringement Examples
• Read More Link: Modern Dog
• Read More Link: The Content Factory
How Google punishes websites for copyright infringement
• In August of 2012, Google made an update to its search algorithm that takes into account the number of valid copyright removal notices a website has received.
• Google now penalizes copyright infringing websites with lower search rankings and potential elimination from its search engine altogether.
• A large number of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) “takedown” filed against your website your website could affect your or your companies rankings in Google search results impacting your bottom line.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Fair Use • Question: So when does use of copyright-protected work without permission not
qualify as copyright infringement?
• Answer: When use of a work is protected under the doctrine of fair use.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Fair Use • Fair use balances the needs of copyright holders with the public’s interest under limited
circumstances related to commentary, criticism, teaching, scholarship, research and news reporting.
• For example if you wanted to critique the work of designer, you might choose to feature an image of the designer’s work in an article. Use of the work in this way would be considered to be fair use.
• You could also do the same with quoted words and or photographs as long as it’s done in moderation. A copyright owner always holds the option to challenge your judgment of whether your use of their work is protected under fair use if they feel your use has extended beyond the fair use territory.
Image Credit: copyright intro by cali.org used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Fair Use Examples• Fair Use • NOT Fair Use
Left: Associated Press photo by photographer Manny Garcia
Right: Hope poster by Shepard Fairey
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
“You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life.
There's a time you got to go and show You're growin' now you know about The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life.”
Source: Lyrics on Demand, Lyrics to TV Show, The Facts of Life
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Fair Use • Luckily there is a guide and test to understand how to separate fair use from
copyright theft.
• For more information: Copyright Theft vs Fair Use: How to Determine if Your Work Has Been Stolen or Adopted for Fair Use with a 4-Part Test
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Copyright & IP Ownership vs Licensing
Ownership
Grants full rights and usage
Pro: Own your work, you own you future
Con: Can be more expensive than licensed use
Example: Logo design, photography, written content that you create and therefore can sell.
Licensing
Grants usage, not ownership
Pro: Can be cheaper than acquiring full ownership
Con: Usage rights can be limited and subject to restrictions by owner including royalties
Example: Stock photos and images from Shutterstock, iStockPhoto, Dreamstime
Yours
Not Yours
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Who Owns Copyright?
Employers
Employers automatically own copyright to work created by employees in course of their employment.
Freelancers & Independent Contractors
You don’t automatically own copyright to work created for you by freelancers, creatives and independent contractors. An extra step is needed.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
One of the biggest mistakes marketers & businesses
make is thinking . . .
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
I paid a freelancer, creative or independent contractor for their work. Don't I automatically own full copyright & IP
rights to the work because I paid for it?• No.
• Think about the last time you bought a book. You own the paper and ink, but not the author's words or thoughts. The same holds true for all other intellectual property such as design work, photos and other written content.
• A transaction in which someone wants to handover full copyright & IP ownership of their work to you is incomplete unless it's formally and explicitly transferred in writing.
• In the case highlighted above where you paid for work without transferring copyright & IP ownership in writing, you would implicitly have a non-exclusive license to use the work however the freelancer, creative or independent contractor would still remain the copyright owner of the work.
How can copyright & IP ownership be transferred?
• Copyright & IP ownership can only be fully transferred through formal written agreement.
• This is often referred to as a “copyright transfer” or “copyright assignment” where you “transfer” or “assign” copyright & IP ownership.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Copyright & IP ownership is typically addressed in 1 of 3 ways when buyers work with freelancers,
creatives & independent contractors
1. Contract in which a buyer receives full ownership rights to work upon payment to a freelancer.
2. Contract in which a freelancer retains full ownership rights to work upon payment and licenses use of work to a buyer.
3. Copyright ownership is not addressed at all -- even if a contract is used.
What happens if I don’t get a copyright transfer or copyright assignment?
• In the most commonplace situation you would have an implied license to use the material.
• However, you would not actually “own” the work. Meaning that you would have to get permission from the creator for future uses of the work or to alter the work in any way in the future.
• The sale of knowledge work is considerably more difficult to transact than the sale of physical goods due to the legal complexities surrounding the transfer of copyright & IP ownership.
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Work-for-Hire
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
1. Contribution to a larger work, such as a magazine 2. A part of a motion picture or audiovisual work 3. A compilation of existing works 4. Instructional texts or graphic works 5. A translation of an existing work 6. A test 7. Answers for a test 8. Supplementary works, such as a graph for a book 9. An atlas
• Work-for-hire language is often used in contracts so that buyers/clients automatically own copyright & IP rights to work produced by freelancers, creatives and independent contractors just as if they were a direct employee.
• Work-for-hire allows buyers/clients to automatically own copyright to work produced outside their organization.
• Work-for-hire arrangements are only valid if there a signed agreement with both parties indicating that a work is work-for-hire AND if an independent contractor is creating a specially-ordered or commissioned work in one of the specific 9 categories of work below:
4 4
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Work-for-HireThe BIG Takeaway
(where many marketers & businesses mess up)
If a work does not specifically fit in one of the 9 categories below, the work does not qualify as a work-for-hire – EVEN IF – there is contract provision signed by both parties noting that a work is specifically created as part of a work-for-hire arrangement.
Meaning you would still have to go through the step of clarifying copyright & IP ownership arrangements.
1. Contribution to a larger work, such as a magazine 2. A part of a motion picture or audiovisual work 3. A compilation of existing works 4. Instructional texts or graphic works 5. A translation of an existing work 6. A test 7. Answers for a test 8. Supplementary works, such as a graph for a book 9. An atlas
4 4
Freelancers OutsourcingYour Freelance Work
56%
44%No
Yes
Source: 2012 Freelance Industry Report: Data and Analysis of Freelancer Demographics, Earnings, Habits and Attitudes by Ed GandiaData: Survey of nearly1,500 freelancers from around the worldLink: http://www.internationalfreelancersday.com/2012report
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
“Do you ever delegate or outsource some of your work to others (to employees, other self-employed professionals or other companies/firms)?”
Another twist to look out for
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Pop Quiz & Case Study Review
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Photo Credit: 1 Mosaic by Leo Reynolds used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Case Study 1:
The company you are employed by is about to release a new e-book as part of new inbound marketing strategy to attract new customers. As a graphic artist you create a book cover design as well as custom illustrations to go inside the book. Who owns copyright to the book cover design and interior illustrations?
Answer:Your company. Your company owns copyright to work created in the course of your employment.
Who Owns the Copyright?
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Case Study 2:
The neighbor’s kid down the street designed a logo for my new startup for free as a favor and as way to build up her portfolio. She emailed me the logo, told me I could have it, and I thanked her for it. There was no contract – she’s the neighbor’s kid after all. Who owns copyright to the logo?
Answer:The neighbor’s kid. You own an implied license to use the logo.
Who Owns the Copyright?
Photo Credit: 2 Mosaic by Leo Reynolds used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Case Study 3:
One our nonprofit volunteers created a new design for our website which really looks awesome now that it’s been redesigned. We took the volunteer out to dinner to thank him for helping us out since we can’t afford his regular website design fees. There was no contract – he’s a volunteer after all and we’re a nonprofit. Who owns copyright to the new website design?
Answer:Your nonprofit volunteer. You own an implied license to use the work.
Who Owns the Copyright?
Photo Credit: 3 Mosaic by Leo Reynolds used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
Case Study 4:
My company hired a freelance copywriter to produce the new marketing copy for our new sales brochure. I signed a contract the freelancer gave me which included the deadline when I was to receive the work and how much the freelancer was to be paid. We paid the freelancer the agreed-upon $1,000 for her work and have the brochure marketing copy which is really fantastic and well-written. Who owns copyright to the marketing copy?
Answer:Read the contract. If the contract does not explicitly assign copyright & IP ownership to your company, you own an implied license to use the work by default. Payment does not automatically confer copyright & IP ownership transfer.
Who Owns the Copyright?
Photo Credit: 4 Mosaic by Leo Reynolds used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Webinar Presentation by Reggie Solomon, Founder, Kunvay
www.kunvay.com
For more information on copyright:
U.S. Copyright Office
www.copyright.gov
For more resources on how to navigate copyright & IP smartly:
Kunvay blog
www.blog.kunvay.com
Contact me:Reggie [email protected]@reggiesolomon@kunvay
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