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Daytona Beach Copyrighting Lawyers
A copyright is an effective way to protect your original creative works and your right to profit from those creative works. Licensing is a practice that allows a copyright holder to grant limited usage rights to another party, typically for a fee. But copyrighting and licensing can be quite complex and if not done properly, you can miss out on profits. This is something our Central Florida intellectual property lawyers know well.
Copyrighting falls under a branch of business law that’s known as intellectual property law or IP law for short. In addition to copyrighting new works and licensing existing works, a copyright lawyer will also handle cases of infringement. Copyright infringement cases are not always straightforward, and there can be some debate about what constitutes “fair use.”
But this is where you can benefit from working with an experienced licensing and copyright attorney. At the Daytona Beach law offices of Lankford Law Firm, you’ll work with well-known IP and business attorneys. Our legal team is well-equipped to handle a broad range of cases, from copyright infringement and licensing, trade secrets and unfair competition, non-disclosure agreements, business contracts, trademarks, negotiation, and beyond.
Contact the elite team of Florida business lawyers of Lankford Law Firm to discuss your needs in a confidential case consultation. Call our law office at 850-888-8992.
Common Questions and Concerns Surrounding Copyrighting and Licensing Copyrighted Materials
Copyright law can be rather complex and many who are seeking to get a copyright or license copyrighted materials have never done so before. Therefore, it can be useful to work with a top intellectual property lawyer who can answer your questions and address your concerns. Here’s a look at some of the most common questions our IP lawyers receive on this topic.
What Can You Copyright?
You can copyright lots of different creative works, providing you meet three criteria:
- Originality – The works must be original and unique;
- Fixation – The works must be fixed or “locked” in a permanent state, and
- Expression – The works must be an expression of an idea.
Copyrighting can be used to protect items such as:
- written content, such as a book, website content, or article;
- photographs and images;
- graphics and artistic works;
- songs;
- a play or script;
- movies and films, and
- computer software programs.
It should be noted that copyrighting cannot be used to protect an idea. For instance, you may have an idea for a storyline about a dog who digs up buried treasure. You cannot copyright that idea, but you can copyright an expression of that idea, such as a children’s book depicting the story or a short film depicting the story.
Additionally, copyright law (and trademark law) offer no protection to titles of individual works. What’s more, you cannot copyright a brief phrase or tagline, although it is possible to trademark certain phrases and taglines. For example, Nike has trademarked the phrase “Just Do It” as one of its branding elements.
What is Copyright Licensing?
Copyright licensing refers to the practice of granting permission to another party who wishes to use (and typically profit from) your copyrighted works. An express license permits a third party to use copyrighted materials while the original copyright holder maintains ownership rights to the creative works in question.
For example, let’s say you authored a short story, and now, a publisher has offered to publish this short story in a compilation of inspiring stories. So, you might opt to grant a license to this publisher to use your short story in their compilation book.
In most cases, licensing involves the exchange of money, but this is not necessarily the case. For example, if you created a series of dog portraits and a local animal shelter asks for permission to use your portraits in a calendar that they’ll sell as part of a fundraiser, you might opt to grant a license to the animal shelter without charging a fee.
It’s also important to note that some limited uses of copyrighted materials fall under the realm of fair use.
What’s Considered Fair Use?
Fair use refers to a few very specific uses of copyrighted works. Fair use doctrine applies to the following:
- Criticism or parody;
- News reporting; and
- Teaching or research.
When determining if a case involves fair use, additional points may be taken into consideration, such as the context/circumstances of the use, whether the works were used in part or in whole, and whether there is an impact on the market value of the works.
If copyrighted works are reproduced without an express license and outside of the realm of fair use, you may have grounds for a copyright infringement claim. A civil claim can serve as a mechanism for recovering damages.
Our IP and Copyright Lawyers Will Help Protect Your Creative Works
A copyright lawyer can prove to be an important ally for any creative who is seeking to protect their works.
Copyright licensing requires very specific licensing agreements that must be precise, non-ambiguous, and specific in the permitted scope of usage.
In cases where you’re seeking to pursue someone who has committed copyright infringement, you’ll need help from a very experienced intellectual property lawyer who can help you determine if you have a viable claim. Copyright and IP laws are quite complex, and there are many areas that require at least some degree of legal interpretation. So, you must work with a lawyer who has significant experience and knowledge in this area.
The Lankford Law Firm was founded by Attorney Lankford, a very experienced business and IP attorney who is prepared to assist with everything from copyrighting and trademarking to trade secrets, business negotiations, contract matters, and addressing allegations of unfair competition.
So, if you need help with a copyright law issue, a copyright infringement case, or a copyright licensing matter, contact our experienced Daytona Beach attorneys to discuss your case in a confidential consultation session.
You can reach the Florida law offices of Lankford Law Firm by calling 850-888-8992.
