Creating unique content for your brand takes a lot of time and effort -whether it’s marketing videos, photos for your website, or even writing books.  

After you’ve worked so hard to create your content, the last thing you’d want is for someone to come along and copy your content. The best way to avoid this is by filing for copyright protection for your work.  

While the process is applying for a copyright is not complex, most people often wonder “How can I avoid shelling out a lot of money while applying for a copyright?” After all, every penny counts when crafting content as a small brand.

Well, in this article we will share with you the three cheapest ways you can use to apply for a copyright. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of each method and finally give you our preferred method.

So let’s dive right in.

The cheapest way to get a copyright 

1. Filing for the copyright yourself on the US copyright website 

The cheapest way to get a copyright is to visit the US copyright website and apply for the copyright yourself. You will fill out the online form, pay the filing fee and submit your copyrighted work on the platform.

However, if you’ve tried this you might notice that the process is not always as straightforward as it may seem. It’s very easy to mess up, especially when doing it for the first time. And if you end up messing up your might have to spend more fixing errors or end up with copyright that does not fully protect your content.

2. Using DIY legal services

The second option is trying out DIY legal services.

At Millar IP we offer DIY legal services to help you out in the application process. By paying a small fee you can access our detailed guide in form of video tutorials that will walk you through the registration process and equip you with the information you need to fill out the forms.

With DIY legal services, you’ll get a much better idea of what is needed and dos and don’ts when making your application.

While this is certainly an inexpensive option, you will not get personalized services to help you deal with unique situations or unexpected problems that may arise when applying for your copyright.

If you’ll need professional assistance you’ll have to hire a patent attorney -which takes us to our last point;

3. Getting a solo attorney or an attorney from a small law firm

If you are copyrighting really important content, consider using a small law firm or a solo attorney. Attorneys at big law firms often charge high prices while still offering the same legal services you'd get at a small law firm. This is because small firms are always running learn, and thus they can afford to charge way less than what attorneys at large firms charge.

Bottom line:  

It’s always better to have someone who’s experienced in IP issues when filing for copyrights for your brand. While it’s not hard to do it yourself, there are some legal technicalities that can make the process seem a bit obscure.

At Millar IP Law we are dedicated to helping you protect your creative work on through our competitive legal services. If you have any questions about the copyright registration process or the U.S Copyright Office, reach out to us and we will be glad to help you out.

Got a question about IP and patent law? Reach out to us here at Millar IP Law and we’ll be happy to help you out! 

If you are a startup, small business, or a solo-inventor looking for a high quality & affordable patent or trademark, you've found the right place. Miller IP Law offers transparent and affordable options specifically designed for your business goals. Grab a strategy meeting to kick things off!

Miller IP Law is a firm that focuses on small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs/solopreneurs. We’re easy to use. We offer affordable pricing that’s transparent and flat-rate. We focus on the little guys who actually need our help. If you’d like an attorney on your team, simply schedule a Zoom call, and we’ll take care of the rest.

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Finally, everything is ready! Business is booming and you have your content and ideas ready for the market. Now all you need to do is to get a copyright and your content will be covered.

But before you jump into the world of intellectual property and file for a copyright for your business, it is important to familiarize yourself with some of the most common pit traps people fall into when filing for copyrights.

 In this article, we’ve curated the top 5 copyright mistakes business make and how you can avoid them.

So, without much further ado, let's jump right in.

What is copyright is?

Well, copyright is a legal term that describes intellectual property rights that help you protect original works of creative expression such as books, paintings, photographs, musical compositions, illustrations, etc.

When filing for copyright protection, here are the top 5mistakes most people make that you will want to avoid;

5 Copyright mistakes to avoid  

1. Trying to copyright everything

When getting started with IP protection, most people try to copyright everything creative they have. While that isn’t a bad thing by itself, it brings a lot of costs for small business owners who are often cash strapped.

For most small businesses, we advise you to start by copyrighting the core or most important item in your business.

For example, if your business depends on creating viral videos then you should consider copyrighting the videos. If you sell books and you have written a new book, then consider copyrighting it.

Consider copyrighting creative items that stand out, as unique and valuable to your business.

2. Not filing for copyright at all

While it might seem obvious, some people just ignore filing a copyright for their creative work. Most of them believe, it is inevitable the content will be stolen so there is no point in even protecting it in the first place.

However, this is a big mistake that could cost you thousands or even millions if your creative work ends up being very valuable.

While you don’t need to copyright everything, try and copyright what is worthwhile and valuable to your business. This will help you avoid losing your content to other creatives or copycats.

3. Copying copyrighted material

Before you right-click and drag your mouse to copy someone else’s content, it is important to consider the ramifications. Copyright infringement can result in steep criminal penalties and some cases, imprisonment.

Therefore it is important to avoid copying copyrighted material when creating your creative work.

4. Making minor changes to copied content 

A common myth most people buy into is thinking that it is fine if they just copy and made a few changes or tweak the copied content.

If you copy someone else’s content and make a few changes or tweak the material, you are still infringing their copyright and they could still file a case against you.

5. Trying to save money by doing it yourself 

While there is no problem with filling your own copyright, trying to save money by choosing not to hire a lawyer can land you into copyright issues especially if you haven’t done it before.

Instead of trying to save money by filing the copyright yourself, consider getting an attorney from a small firm or a solo attorney to file the copyright for you. Most of these attorneys charge affordable fees compared to attorneys from large law firms.

Got a question on Copyright or IP Law?

Reach out to us at Millar IP Law for all questions concerning copyright issues or IP Law and we’ll be happy to help you out. Otherwise good luck with your business.

If you are a startup, small business, or a solo-inventor looking for a high quality & affordable patent or trademark, you've found the right place. Miller IP Law offers transparent and affordable options specifically designed for your business goals. Grab a strategy meeting to kick things off!

Miller IP Law is a firm that focuses on small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs/solopreneurs. We’re easy to use. We offer affordable pricing that’s transparent and flat-rate. We focus on the little guys who actually need our help. If you’d like an attorney on your team, simply schedule a Zoom call, and we’ll take care of the rest.

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Finding Copyright Free Videos

Well-placed high-quality videos can really bring projects to life. Videos can make the difference for presentations, websites, or just family videos.

Many stock video sites charge a fee for their high-quality content. However, there are sites where you can download high-quality videos completely free of charge for personal and commercial use, with no strings attached.

Here are the best free stock video sites that offer the best quality and variety.

Note - even if a video clip is in the public domain, you shouldn't use it to cast identifiable people in a bad light.

Finding the right video can be tough!

Many stock video sites charge a fee for their high-quality content. However, there are sites where you can download high-quality videos completely free of charge for personal and commercial use, with no strings attached.

Here are the best free stock video sites that offer the best quality and variety.

Miller IP Law is a firm that focuses on small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs/solopreneurs. We’re easy to use. We offer affordable pricing that’s transparent and flat-rate. We focus on the little guys who actually need our help. If you’d like an attorney on your team, simply schedule a Zoom call, and we’ll take care of the rest.

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Some books and movies are so moving or interesting that people like to image what happened before or after the book or movie took place. When this occurs, people write books that follow on the books or movies, known as fanfictions. Fanfictions can be high-quality labors of love written by people who possess an encyclopedic knowledge of stories and are often shared with others. The problem with fanfictions is that they rely on legally protected works (the original book or movie). By writing stories featuring someone else’s characters is treading on risky legal ground.

If a thing is in the public domain then it can be used freely in any work. This includes characters such as Robin Hood, Hercules, and Tarzan (which is why there are so many movies and books starring these characters). There are several ways a story can enter the public domain, the author could give up their rights to the work or the copyright could have expired after enough time passes. For example, in the US an author retains their rights over a work for the entirety of their life, plus the 70 years that follow their death. If the work is published anonymously or for hire, the rights last 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation (whichever is shorter). This varies from country to country but is generally the norm.

Beware!

There are many public domain characters who are famous because of facets added by later works. For example, Universal studio made Frankenstein's monster memorable by adding their unique take on the character and Disney took public domain stories like Aladdin and made the character come to life. This means that you can write about Aladdin, but if you add some catchy songs a funny genie and a smart monkey you are encroaching on Disney's copyrights, and Disney will almost certainly come after you.

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Any creative work (such as books, movies, audio recordings, etc) published in the United States before 1923 are in the public domain and are no longer protected by copyrights.A creative work published after 1922 but before 1978 are protected for 95 years from the date of publication of the creative work.If the creative work was created but not published before 1978 or was created after 1978, the creative work is protected for the life of the author plus 70 years.

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As soon as you write the code down for a software program, it is automatically protected by a copyright. When the code is protected by a copyright, others cannot copy the code or modify the code without your permission.

Open source is simply a license to use and modify the software under the terms of the open source software agreement, such as a General Public License (GPL). The code is still protected by copyright, but you have a license to use it provided you follow the terms of the agreement. If your desire is to freely share your software with the world so that others can use it and build on it, then open source is the way to go. If you want to protect your software program then you may consider copyrighting the code and patenting the overall software program. With regards to copyrights, here are a few reasons to copyright your code:

Code Matters

If your code may be the only way or the best way to do something for a program (it is an essential part of what makes a product, an application, or an experiment, work), your code is a creative work that belongs to you and you can control who can use the code and who cannot. If you want to maintain such control and/or profit from your hard work, a copyright on the code may provide you control and ownership rights.

Putting others on Notice

Copyright is automatical as soon as a coder writes it down (on paper or digitally). A copyright does not stop others from creating the same work independent of you. For example, the code that you just wrote could also be created by another programmer independent of you and in a similar circumstance. Copyrights versus Open Source for software A software copyright only stops another programmer from copying your code. However, if you register a copyright with the U.S. copyright office, then the world is on notice that the code is yours. That programmer who independently wrote the same code is not off the hook and your ability to enforce it is stronger.

Enforcement

In addition to making it easier to prove infringement of your copyright, registration also makes it easier to recover damages from infringers, such as statutory damages which can be as high as $150,000 per infringement. Note, as you learn more about how to register a copyright for your code, be sure that the protection that registration gives is worth making your source code public as copyrights are publicly available.

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How long does it take to get a copyright?

Copyrights protect original creative works (such as art/books/music/movies/software code). Copyright gives the creators of original works the exclusive right to profit from their work for a set amount of time, usually the life of the creator plus 70 years.

Basic copyright protection arises automatically when a work is created. Enhanced protection and enforcement powers can be obtained through copyright registration. Copyright registration is effective on the date the U.S. Copyright Office receives the completed application and appropriate fees. When you file for copyright, you will receive an email confirming your application has been received. On average, it takes about 3 months for a copyright to be registered.

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The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was passed in 1998 as an anti-piracy statute

to make it illegal to circumvent copy protections designed to prevent pirates from duplicating digital copyrighted works and selling or freely distributing them. The DMCA also makes it illegal to manufacture or distribute tools or techniques for circumventing copy controls.

However, the DMCA has been applied more broadly than originally intended. For example, game developers, music and film companies, and others have used the DMCA to maintain control on how consumers use their copyrighted works by preventing individuals from making copies of their purchased products for their own use or jailbreaking smartphones. Laser printer makers have also used the DMCA to prevent third-party companies from selling refilled toner cartridges for the printers. Apple also tried used the DMCA to take down forums discussing ways to unlock iPods to sync music playlists between iPods and iPhones without having to use iTunes.

As the DMCA continues to evolve and be applied in new ways, individuals and companies should be careful in dealing with anti-piracy and security features of other products.

Miller IP Law is a firm that focuses on small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs/solopreneurs. We’re easy to use. We offer affordable pricing that’s transparent and flat-rate. We focus on the little guys who actually need our help. If you’d like an attorney on your team, simply schedule a Zoom call, and we’ll take care of the rest.

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One of the best resources for searching for whether something is copyrighted is the Library of Congress Copyright Office. With over 200 years of archives, the Library of Congress is an invaluable tool for discovering who owns rights to what and whether a given work is still protected or available in the public domain. However, with such a large amount of archives, searching can be challenging. Here are a few tips for doing a copyright search.

Know what your searching for

The methods you use will vary depending on the material, especially the date of publication of the work you’re looking for. Determining when the copyrighted material was published can be an important first step when searching. For copyrights published after 1978, you can find a record of the copyright at cocatalog.loc.gov. For copyrights before 1978, it can be a bit more difficult. The methods you use will vary depending on the material, especially the date of publication of the work you’re looking for. Determining when the copyrighted material was published can be an important first step when searching. For copyrights published after 1978, you can find a record of the copyright at cocatalog.loc.gov. For copyrights before 1978, it can be a bit more difficult.

Search the catalog of copyright entries

For pre-1978 records, you can search the Library of Congress card catalog in person. If this isn't an option, the next best method is to use the Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), which is an index of the copyright entries in the records of the Copyright Office. Most public libraries in the United States carry a copy of the CCE. The CCE provides rudimentary information, including whether the copyright has been renewed and the name of its current owner. While the information is sometimes limited, it is a starting point for any copyright search.

Narrowing the Search

Once you have some initial results, the method you use will depend on your needs: If you are trying to identify the owner of the copyright, you will want to focus on certificates of registration issued by the Copyright Office. If you want to determine whether the work has entered the public domain, you will need to consult the date of the copyright registration. Works published before 1923 are in the public domain. Works published between 1923 and 1963 are protected for 28 years if the copyright was not renewed, or 95 years if it was.

Get Help to Save Time

Don't be afraid to ask for help if you get stuck. An intellectual property attorney can help guide you through the process or perform the search for you.

Miller IP Law is a firm that focuses on small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs/solopreneurs. We’re easy to use. We offer affordable pricing that’s transparent and flat-rate. We focus on the little guys who actually need our help. If you’d like an attorney on your team, simply schedule a Zoom call, and we’ll take care of the rest.

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Writing a sequel to a book or movie

Got the perfect idea for the next big movie or book in a series? Do you need permission to write it or can you just get going?

Do I need permission to write a sequel to a famous book or can I just write and sell it?

For any books that fall under copyright protection you need permission from the copyright holder. The holder is typically the author, the author’s family, or the book publisher. Without obtaining the rights, you cannot sell/publish a sequel.

The Good News

That is the bad news. The good news is that for all the aspiring authors who want to write a sequel to their favorite book, there are thousands of older books with expired copyrights. Did Gregory Maguire have to get permission from the author/publisher of The Wizard of Oz? Nope, because The Wizard of Oz had been in the public domain since 1956. If the book is in the public domain with an expired copyright then you are free to write a sequel, a trilogy, a prequel, or anything else you may want to write. To determine when a copyright expires, you need to understand the a bit of copyright law (just a bit). If a work created before January 1, 1978, the work has a copyright life of 95 years from publication or 120 years from the work’s creation—whichever comes first. If the word was published in 1978 or after, and the author is named and registers with the copyright office (whether it’s his real name or a pseudonym), the copyright term for the work is the author’s life plus 70 years. Let's take The Great Gatsby as an example. Is The Great Gatsby part of the public domain? The Great Gatsby was penned by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published in 1925. Because it was published before 1978, the copyright won’t expire until 95 years after it was published. For those of you who are bad at math, The Great Gatsby will become part of the public domain in 2020. So in two short years (as of 2018) you can publish your sequel to The Great Gatsby.

Can I write the screenplay for the sequel to a movie if I didn’t write the original movie?

Bad Idea No. It’s even more inadvisable to write a sequel to a movie that you don’t own the copyrights to than a sequel book you don’t own the copyrights to. This is because of the way that much of the motion picture industry works. The full answer to this question is long and more complicated, but the short answer is that if you make a sequel to a movie without the copyrights, be prepared to get sued, lose your home, and live in a van down by the river.

Miller IP Law is a firm that focuses on small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs/solopreneurs. We’re easy to use. We offer affordable pricing that’s transparent and flat-rate. We focus on the little guys who actually need our help. If you’d like an attorney on your team, simply schedule a Zoom call, and we’ll take care of the rest.

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Finding Copyright Free Videos

Well-placed high-quality videos can really bring projects to life. Videos can make the difference for presentations, websites, or just family videos.

Finding the right video can be tough!

Many stock video sites charge a fee for their high-quality content. However, there are sites where you can download high-quality videos completely free of charge for personal and commercial use, with no strings attached.

Here are the best free stock video sites that offer the best quality and variety. 

Miller IP Law is a firm that focuses on small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs/solopreneurs. We’re easy to use. We offer affordable pricing that’s transparent and flat-rate. We focus on the little guys who actually need our help. If you’d like an attorney on your team, simply schedule a Zoom call, and we’ll take care of the rest.

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Finding Copyright-Free Pictures

Finding the right picture can be tough

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For e-commerce stores, blogs, and other websites, getting traffic to your sites is one of the most important things to do.

*Update: There was a recent court case on this topic (Paul Nicklen and Christina Mittermeier v. Sinclair Broadcast Group) where a business would take screenshots of videos to use as teasers to get you to watch the video or read a related article. The court found that taking screenshots of the videos was copyright infringement. Takeaway: Embedding the actual video on your website continues at present to be legal but anything else can cause issues.

While original content is almost always the best, sometimes it is hard to come up with your own content all the time.Additionally, you may find that perfect video that someone else has already created and you would love to embed the video on your site.

For e-commerce stores, blogs, and other websites, getting traffic to your sites is one of the most important things to do. Without traffic, you cannot develop a customer base, sell products, develop a following, or anything else needed to be a success.

E-Commerce

One of the many differentiators or differences between a dwindling site and a growing site is the content you provide to visitors. Content may be blog posts, videocasts, YouTube® videos, podcasts, memes, and so forth. While original content is almost always the best, sometimes it is hard to come up with your own content all the time. Additionally, you may find that perfect video that someone else has already created and you would love to embed the video on your site.

This comes down to a copyright law question. As with most legal questions, it depends.

Hyperlinking (Using Youtube As An Example)

Hyperlinking (a regular link) to a YouTube video is not infringing on any copyright laws because the video does not appear on your site. Similarly, you can post links to any web page without asking permission from the owners.

However, if you provided a regular link to a likely infringing YouTube video (a YouTube video that is placed on YouTube without owner's consent), then the issue becomes less clear. The infringing video should not have been on YouTube in the first place and posting a link to it can be viewed as a form of "distribution", which is a copyright violation.

YouTube itself is well shielded because it is against their policy to host infringing videos, and once reported, all infringing videos will be removed. However, if you knowingly link to a video you believe is infringing copyrights, it is unclear if your linking is deemed a copyright violation.

Embedded YouTube Videos

In 2012, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided this issue in Flava Works, Inc v. Gunter. In this case, Flava Works was an adult entertainment company producing pornographic videos and images. Flava Works owned several registered copyrights and trademarks.

Part of Flava Works’ business includes streaming video through its various websites. MyVidster was a website allowing users to post videos to be searched and viewed by other users. Flava Works sued myVidster for copyright infringement regarding the embedding of videos.

Flava Works, Inc. v. Gunter came to a close after the ruling was passed in favor of the defendant, Marques Gunter, the sole proprietor of myVidster.com. The court also ruled that watching an infringing video does not constitute copyright infringement.

Ruling

The Appeals court ruled that embedding a video that infringes on copyrighted material is not a violation of copyright law. For example, if you found an episode of The Simpsons on YouTube and embedded it in your blog, you would not be violating any copyright laws. That holds true even if the person who uploaded the video ripped it straight from The Simpsons season 3 DVD. However, the person who uploaded the video is in violation of the law.

The court's decision also protects those who watch illegally uploaded copyrighted videos. Judge Richard Posner wrote in the ruling:

"...As long as the visitor makes no copy of the copyrighted video that he is watching, he is not violating the copyright owner's exclusive right ... His bypassing Flava's pay wall by viewing the uploaded copy is equivalent to stealing a copyrighted book from a bookstore and reading it. That is a bad thing to do (in either case) but it is not copyright infringement."

"...As long as the visitor makes no copy of the copyrighted video that he is watching, he is not violating the copyright owner's exclusive right ... His bypassing Flava's pay wall by viewing the uploaded copy is equivalent to stealing a copyrighted book from a bookstore and reading it. That is a bad thing to do (in either case) but it is not copyright infringement."

Disclaimer

"As with all situations, every circumstance is different and legal advice from a lawyer should be sought before proceeding on any matter in question. This article is not legal advice or a legal opinion. This article is an opinion of the writer."

Miller IP Law is a firm that focuses on small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs/solopreneurs. We’re easy to use. We offer affordable pricing that’s transparent and flat-rate. We focus on the little guys who actually need our help. If you’d like an attorney on your team, simply schedule a Zoom call, and we’ll take care of the rest.

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Creativity can be hard to capture. When you do capture it, you better protect it.

Creativity, Artistic, Inspiration, Imagination, Expression

To be a great artist you have to have a lot of talents. Whether you write a world-renowned book or a chart-topping song, when you pour your soul into your work you want to let people know that it is yours. That you created something beautiful. A copyright protects your artistic work so that others do not claim it as their own. A copyright is a right granted by the government to let an artist decide who can print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material. The owner of the copyright gets to decide who can use their artistic creation and how they get to use it. It gives the creator the right to set their art free or to share it with a select few.

Miller IP Law is a firm that focuses on small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs/solopreneurs. We’re easy to use. We offer affordable pricing that’s transparent and flat-rate. We focus on the little guys who actually need our help. If you’d like an attorney on your team, simply schedule a Zoom call, and we’ll take care of the rest.

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