Being Copyright Smart

Do you write? Words? Music?

Do you draw? Paint? Photograph?

Do you perform? Act? Sing? Dance? Record?

Are you protected?

Many works you create (in the U.S.) are automatically protected as your intellectual property by the copyright laws of the United States.

Some are not.

You’ve worked hard on your creation, be it a song, an e-book, a graphic or painting, or a 500-page novel. God forbid, someone should steal it.

As soon as you create it, it’s likely protected but you don’t want to take chances. If you are creating anything, for yourself or for someone else (client, employer, etc), you’ll want to know how to protect your intellectual property and understand the circumstances when what you’ve created actually belongs to someone else.

Here’s the info you need, from the horse’s mouth - read these helpful guidelines about the rules and regs of copyright.