Copyright Infringement

Everything You Need to Know About Copyright Infringement

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Copyright infringement is a serious offense and one of the only ‘crimes’ you could commit without even realizing it. If you use anything you do not actually own, you may be committing copyright infringement by stealing someone else’s intellectual property or copyright.

Whether you’re trying to copyright your own intellectual property, or you’re worried that you might be brushing up against someone else’s, you need an experienced copyright attorney to make sure you’re going about things the right way.

What Constitutes Copyright Infringement?

You have to remember that if you created it, you own it. This applies to several mediums:

• Words (as in books, or short stories, or even webpages)
• Images (photography, paintings, portraits)
• Videos (film, shorts, motion pictures)

Anything creatively designed, such as logos and trademarks, are intellectual property as well. Music even fits under that category for obvious reasons. If you’re using it for business purposes, and you didn’t create it, you’re breaking the law. More specifically, if you’re using it without expressed consent or proper licensing, you’re infringing on the owner’s rights to that property. You could be taken to court as a result.

The Most Common Errors That Result in Copyright Infringement

We currently live in a world ripe with intellectual property, given more and more are creators, visionaries, entrepreneurs, and revolutionaries. It will serve you best in ensuring you always stay within the lines and boundaries of the law.

• Using a Celebrity or Influencer Name

An easy mistake. Don’t do it. The legal description behind this would be considered the right of publicity. It simply means that celebrities or well-known individuals have the right to use their own name as a brand, including their image, as ways to generate income for themselves.

No one else can use such concepts without permission or consent. You attempt to develop a brand of basketball shoe and claim that Michael Jordan endorses it with a picture of his figure holding one up—you’ll most likely be liable for copyright infringement.

• Don’t “Frame” Without Proper Citation

What is framing? In this particular case, it’s considered the act of promoting yourself based on what was written or said about you on some other publication. Believe it or not, but if you don’t reference or credit the source of that publication, you’re committing copyright infringement.

An example of that would be an author placing a quote from an interview on the writer’s own website without any expressed consent or approval. Legally that publication could sue you for doing such a thing, even if it was you that delivered the quote. When a publication has the exclusive right to feature you, you must respect that and ask for permission to republish elsewhere if you would like to do so.

• Don’t Violate the “Fair Use” Principle

Another way of explaining this is the fact that you can’t plagiarize, which is obvious. You always cite. You can do this with other mediums as well. When IP incorporates fair use, it means you can use copyrighted material even without consent provided you reference the source and if the copyrighted material serves to support your own works, whatever they may be. Neglect to list any citations, and the owner of your reference could pursue legal action against you.

• Always Attribute Credit of Someone Else’s Work

Even if you’re not necessarily supporting your own work with any citations, you must list credit. This applies to many mediums, such as images in articles. If they’re not royalty free, and they’re just displayed for aesthetics, you either have to request a licensing agreement or pay a fee to use the creative piece, or simply attribute the credit within the caption of the image.

Make sure any image or media you use has either been approved or marked as fair use. Try searching the Creative Commons to find photos and artwork that have been marked as approved for commercial use.

• Avoid Any Kind of False Advertising

This isn't exclusive to copyright law. However, if you’re using published material that falsely advertises, you’re looking at legal ramifications of a much more severe situation. This can apply to everything from trademarks to even product taglines. You can therefore surmise that false advertising tends to overlap with copyright infringement in many ways. Not only are you stealing someone else’s ideas, but you’re actually claiming they’re yours.

What Happens When You Receive a Cease-and-Desist Letter?

Copyright infringement law does follow a process, however, and you do have a chance to rectify the situation. Oftentimes you’re not aware you’re infringing on someone else’s IP rights, in which case if it’s brought to your attention, you usually receive it in the form of a cease-and-desist letter: a letter letting you know that you must stop using the intellectual property, which you do not own.

Honoring the request solves plenty of problems, so be sure to do it immediately unless you’re faced with the issue of making some kind of good-faith payment for the time allotted in using the intellectual property. You will have no other choice but to pay, even if you remove that intellectual property from your website or advertisement.

In some cases it means you can work out an agreement that would benefit the original owner with a request for consent and proper citation of said use, especially if it’s also in your best interest to continue using the intellectual property for your own purposes. However, don’t bank on the agreement successfully going through. Both parties have to agree. If the opposing party does not, you have no ground to stand on in your effort to pursue such an agreement. The best thing you can then do is simply cut your losses, remove your usage of the intellectual property, pay any fees, and move on.

Be Very Wary as an Intellectual Owner and User

Creativity comes with its premium. Honor it successfully to not only protect yourself, but others as well. You may have more questions on copyright infringement. including what to do if someone is using your copyrighted works without permission. If so, simply consult a qualified business attorney.