IP Tech Knowledgy

Copyright law has its limitations.  It grants creators the exclusive right to control their original work of authorship, whether it is in writing, artwork, music, software, or other types of creative work.  But Copyright does not protect every creative work, as the nuances (and linked prior posts) below explain.

Mere ideas are not protectable.  Copyright only covers the specific expression.  Writing about or depicting an idea in a different way from the original is usually not infringing.  

If there are only a limited number of ways or words to describe something, the idea and expression are deemed to have “merged,” and the creation is not protectable.

Stock elements, predictable settings, or common plot devices in a story are not protectable under the “scènes à faire” principle that allows anyone to depict a certain genre without infringing.

A short clause of a few words is not protectable, although a short poem may be. 

Telling someone in general what to create provides you no rights.  Any input must itself be copyrightable content.

Just because you pay someone to create a work for you does not mean you own it.  Independent contractors own their work.  You need an assignment from them.  Only if they are employees or there are special situations is it a “work made for hire” that you would own.

Merely working hard on a creation does not create protection unless there is also creative input.  Copyright does not reward “sweat of the brow.”

You need to arrange data in some creative fashion to have rights in your compilation of data.

Joint authorship gives all creators the right to use the work so long as they have added copyrightable input to the whole.  An agreement can, and should, address the relative rights.  

If you can fit under the parameters of a fair use defense, or your new use is transformative, you can make copies. 
  
Only works created by humans are protectable, not what was created by AI or animals.  See this disappointed plaintiff.
AI developments and concepts of “fair use” are still evolving.  Be careful when using and creating content using AI.  Here are some recent cases.

On the positive side, you own a copyright merely by creating the work.  You do not need to register the creation.  However, without registering for the copyright, you can not file suit against an infringer, and without registering before the infringement occurs, you can not obtain attorneys’ fees if you win, or get enhanced “statutory” damages above the value of your loss.
 

Ned T. Himmelrich
410-576-4171 • nhimmelrich@gfrlaw.com