*Please note that I am not a lawyer, nor is this intended to be legal advice. I’m just a writer and designer who has seen too many people use images and other art that doesn’t belong to them.
If someone created it, it’s copyrighted.
Keep that simple maxim in mind, and save yourself much heartache. Whether it’s writing, art, film, music, or sculpture, it belongs to the person who created it.
Things to Avoid:
- Google a picture and use it on your website without checking the copyright
- Create a piece of art by copying someone else’s art
- Download a picture from the internet and have it printed on a canvas and resell it
- Record a film in a theater
- Use someone else’s music on your YouTube video without permission
- Share a file of copyrighted work (music, video, etc.) and allow someone else to download it without permission from the copyright holder
If you created something, you wouldn’t want someone else to take credit for it. Show the creator the respect they deserve. And if you made it, you own the copyright.
What is Copyright?
But what is copyright, how can we find pictures to use on our website or social media, and how can we protect our work?
Copyright protects intellectual property the moment it is created, specifically works that are original and tangible. Whether you snap a selfie, scribble down a poem that popped in your head in the shower, or write a book, your work is copyrighted to you.
In addition to belonging to individuals, copyrights can be owned by organizations. The company you work for might own the copyright to the things you create while working for them. The person or entity possessing the copyright has the right to make copies of the work, display it publicly, or perform it.
Registering your copyright can further protect your work. Though the copyright is automatic and registration is voluntary, copyright registration is necessary for those who wish to file a lawsuit for infringement of their work. Learn more about registration here.
How Can I Use Copyrighted Works?
If you read a book or watch a movie, you’re using a copyrighted work. If you are accessing the work legally, you have the right to do so. You may not have the right to broadcast it, photocopy it, or share the file.
What is Fair Use?
People will often claim they have fair use rights to a work to get around copyright infringement claims, but what does fair use mean? If you’re commenting on something in the form of a review or criticism, you may have the right to share a small portion of the work. But fair use doesn’t allow you to use an entire song as the backtrack to your YouTube video.
“Fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder for purposes such as criticism, parody, news reporting, research and scholarship, and teaching,” according to Baylor University. The school provides a fair use checklist for their students to determine when they can use such works.
Different sources interpret the law differently as to how much of a work you can legally use. Legal Beagle comments on the proportion of works copied, “The ratio of the copied portion to the entire work is also considered in determining whether the copying is an infringement. For example, copying two or three frames from a 100-page comic book, or a 10-second clip from a full-length movie, would be less likely to be considered infringing than copying the same amount from a 10-page comic book.”
Copyright Trolls
Need another reason not to use someone else’s art? There are “Copyright Trolls” that search for copyright infringement. They crawl the internet looking for images that are used without permission. The trolls demand payment for a release to avoid claims of copyright infringement. Most are third parties and not lawyers.
The troll companies intend to resolve claims before legal action takes place. However, most do have relationships with lawyers for just such a purpose. The company will ask if you have the legal right to an image you used. If not, you’ll want to remove the image from your website (or wherever else it is used). They will still demand payment or threaten to retain a lawyer and file a lawsuit.
If you find yourself in this situation, you may wish to consult your own legal team. Your lawyer will help you negotiate a lower fee or even find a way to have the claim dropped entirely.
What are Copyright Exceptions?
There are exceptions to copyright. Some things can’t be copyrighted, and sometimes copyrights expire.
- You cannot copyright a fact or idea
- A mere list of ingredients cannot be copyrighted
- Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans cannot be copyrighted (though a series can be if it serves the role of a brand)
Works created today are copyrighted for the author’s life plus seventy years beyond their death. This document outlines the duration of copyrights.
There are copyright exceptions for educators. The University of North Texas has a TEACH Act compliance checklist.
What are Creative Commons?
“Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that helps overcome legal obstacles to the sharing of knowledge and creativity to address the world’s pressing challenges,” says creativecommons.org. Their site clarifies which items are free for public use, repurposing, and reworking. CC has six different licensing levels, from the public domain to requiring attribution. Commercial and noncommercial acceptable uses vary. Be sure to visit their site to learn more about how to attribute, find art, or share your work with others.
What Does Public Domain Mean?
Works in the public domain are not copyright protected. This includes facts and discoveries and works with expired copyright protection. In the United States, works created before 1926 are in the public domain. If it is in the public domain, you can likely use it and share it on your own website, book, or social media. In addition, you can use art in the public domain to inspire your art.
Where Can I Find Pictures to Use?
Aside from creating your art, you can use pictures within the public domain, creative commons, or purchase images. I use (paid) design software that allows me access to almost all the photos I need. If there’s something specific beyond that, I purchase it.
If you need a large image that you’re going to blow up to put on a sign or billboard, you’ll want to ensure it is high-quality and high-resolution. You’ll want to purchase the image if you don’t create it yourself. Buying a digital image is not expensive. For $10-$15, I’ve always found what I needed. Try checking out these sites for more ideas.
- https://unsplash.com/
- https://creativecommons.org/
- https://www.pexels.com/
- https://www.gettyimages.com/
- https://www.shutterstock.com/
How Do I Give Credit Where Credit is Due?
If you’ve already checked out Creative Commons, you’ll have a better idea of how to attribute images. Let’s discuss the written text for a moment.
I became more educated on copyright law when I wrote my first book. After much research, it came down to this: always give credit. Yes, there are fair use exceptions, and some sources say that if a quote is short enough, widely known, or old enough, you don’t need to cite your source, but I say, wouldn’t it be better to cite and not need to than not cite and get slapped with a cease and desist or copyright infringement fee?
If I pick up a book that doesn’t have sources cited, I won’t purchase it. There’s no way I can trust that one person just created the whole book without outside help. Even fictional works often disclose how they researched the time period, setting, or characters in their novel. Err on the side of overciting.
Tip
If you’re creating something, especially a tangible work that references, quotes, or borrows from another work, ask for permission to use the portion you will be referring to. Most sources I’ve reached out to reply with favorable emails very quickly. Some were so pleased to be quoted that they shared links to my book from their websites and social media, which led to more sales! So why wouldn’t you ask?!
If they don’t reply, I’ll ask again. After three tries, I’ll probably rewrite that section of my book without the added information from that source, or I’ll find another source.
Citation Know-How
To get my citations right for my printed and ebooks, I use: https://www.citethisforme.com/us/citation-generator/chicago
That tool will format a bibliography citation for the Legal Beagle site mentioned earlier like this:
Carnes, D., 2022. Manga Copyright Laws. [online] Legal Beagle. Available at: <https://legalbeagle.com/5595428-manga-copyright-laws.html> [Accessed 25 April 2022].
As you see below, I keep it pretty simple for my blogs. I just put my citations and resource links at the end of the post. But how can you protect your work?
How Can I Protect My Work?
Make your work harder to steal.
- Include the copyright symbol (©)
- Don’t publish easy-to-copy versions of your works
- Share PDFs rather than word processing documents
- Consider watermarking your art before you share it on social media
Copyright.gov encourages applying a copyright notice, even though it isn’t required. “Applying a copyright notice to a work has not been required since March 1, 1989, but may still provide practical and legal benefits. Notice typically consists of the copyright symbol or the word ‘Copyright,’ the name of the copyright owner, and the year of first publication. Placing a copyright notice on a work is not a substitute for registration.”
Who Owns the Copyright if I Create Something for a Client?
Ownership can change from the creator. For example, if you are a freelance graphic designer, you’ll want to indicate copyright details in your contract.
Transfer of ownership for property such as a website, brochure, logo, or other design often occurs when the client pays for the project. The creator should outline this transfer in the contract before the work begins.
Example
I retain some rights to my work. My contracts specify that I can use samples of projects created for the client to promote my own business. Some clients may require that I sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement or NDA. In that case, I’m not free to share any details about my work. Some clients don’t want others to know that they’ve hired me! (I guess that means I’m a trade secret.)
Have you encountered copyright issues? Please share your stories, comments, or tips below.
Resources/Citations/Further Information
https://www.copyright.gov/title17/
https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ15a.pdf
https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/68621.pdf
https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf
https://legalbeagle.com/5595428-manga-copyright-laws.html
https://legalbeagle.com/12719016-copyright-law-making-personal-copies.html
https://clear.unt.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/unt_copyright_teach_act_compliance_checklist.pdf