When you create something, it’s yours to do with as you wish; when others want to use your creation, they should have your permission to do so. The only way to ensure that you will consistently get the credit and the financial benefit of your original created work is through copyright protection. A copyright gives you the exclusive legal right to determine who is and who is not authorized to use your written work as well as where your work is displayed, published, or performed.
How is Work Copyrighted?
The protection of your written work is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and many laws and statutes have been enacted which continue to refine the protection of your intellectual property. Copyright protection is automatic for all your written work as long as your work is an original creation, even if some of the elements are not original but contains at least some creativity or artfulness. As the author, you own the exclusive rights to your work; however, you have the ability to transfer or sell those rights to someone else. When employees create things, the rights are generally owned by the employer who hired the work to be done.
Patent vs. Copyright
A patent is similar to a copyright, but it is important to know the distinction between these two types of intellectual property protection. A patent is protection of the actual features and functions of a created work, as in the inner workings of a watch or the formula of a cleaning product, for which the creator pays. A copyright is free and has only one function: to protect any original idea which has been expressed in writing, such as a novel, a song, or an article.
How Long Will Copyright Protection Last?
Although there are exceptions, the copyright on most works which were published after January 1, 1978, are in effect from the moment the work is created. That copyright lasts for the life of the author or songwriter plus another 70 years. For example, Ernest Hemingway died in 1961, so his written works are protected until 2031, a total of 70 years after his death. Copyrights do not need to be renewed at any time.
For works that are anonymously written, are written under a pseudonym, or were written for hire, the copyright protection lasts either 95 years from the time they were first published or 120 years from the time they were written, whichever comes first. If a work was created by more than one person and the work was not paid for by another person or group, the 70-year protection begins after the last surviving writer dies.
Works published and copyrighted before January 1, 1978, are under a variety of regulations, so the length of those copyrights will vary. While these copyrights do not need to be renewed either, it may be to your advantage to renew them after 28 years, the time when renewal is optional for these older copyrights.
