You may not think you could be at fault for copyright infringement if you are not an artist, musician or writer, but it can happen to anyone. Have you ever taken a photograph you found in Google images to use for a meme to share on your Facebook page? Well, if you did not have permission from the person who took it, you could be violating a copyright by using their photograph.
Are You Violating Someone's Rights? | Copyright Lawyer in Cary NC
In this two part series, we will look at copyright infringement and show you how you could be violating someone’s rights without even knowing it. We will also show you how to avoid copyright infringement.
A copyright is a form of intellectual property protection that keeps people from using others’ works of art without permission. When someone creates something such as a story, song or play that is committed to paper or recorded, it belongs to them and is protected from unauthorized use by another. This means that someone else cannot use, alter or distribute the work without permission.
You do not have to have a work registered for copyright in order to be protected. An unregistered copyright on a work is still protected, but if legal action is going to be taken on someone who appears to be violating a copyright, then having it registered with the government will provide more protection.
Copyright infringement is when someone’s work of art is used in some form without his or her permission. There are several forms of copyright infringement, including:
- Using someone’s story, song, play or photograph without asking permission
- Claiming someone else’s work as your own
- Using someone else’s work in your own creation
- Performing someone’s work without asking permission
- Distributing or selling someone else’s work without their consent
In our next installment of this blog we will talk more about copyright infringement. Be sure to visit back with us soon.
Eldreth Law Firm | Copyright Lawyer in Cary NC
Copyrighted works are protected so that others cannot use them in their own work, reproduce them, share them, or make alterations to them. For example, when an author copyrights his novel, poem, or other written work, he has the right protect that work and prevent others from using it or making changes to it. If that protection is violated, the infringer may be facing legal action and fines.
It's easy to make mistakes. Don't allow those mistakes to create problems for you in the future. Contact us for more information about our infringement services provided by our copyright lawyer in Cary NC, and other services that may be of use to you or someone you know.
