Michelangelo’s David, Florence, Italy (my 2018 trip)

Important to Repeat

I’ve written about copyright issues in several previous posts yet the how-to-protect-your-work articles continue to show up in my Inbox. That means it’s an important part of publishing any works, written or otherwise, including photos. Social Media abounds with photos people have taken whether they’re professional photographers (think National Geographic) or not. I’m guilty of saving many beautiful photos that struck me just right in the moment; however, I never used them in any of my written or artistic work. That would be copyright infringement.

According to attorney Matt Knight of the Sidebar Saturdays blog, we have to be careful using others’ photographs as they may contain someone else’s copyrighted or trademarked work. That can be any item or person or logo somewhere in a picture. For example, you photograph a friend while at an art museum with a famous painting in the background. While you can probably share that photo with friends to show off your visit to the museum, you can’t use it in any type of commerce situation (that means where you would profit from the picture).

A Long List

In the U.S., copyrights give exclusive rights to “use, reproduce, and distribute” your creative works. When discussing copyright issues, many people first think literary. But protections extend far beyond that. Matt Knight writes:

“… copyright protection also extends to paintings, photos, maps, drawings, charts, lithographs, sculptures, globes, stained-glass windows, pottery, jewelry, labels, wallpaper, furniture, toys, buildings, and fabrics. Photos contain many of these items.”

Whew. What a list!

Copyright Tidbit

Here’s a little breakdown: any work created on or after January 1, 1978, copyright protections last for the LIFE of the creator PLUS 70 years. If no one knows when the artist/creator died, then it’s 120 years from the date of creation of the work. After all that, the work enters public domain and can be used by anyone for commerce or personal reasons. You can check out Matt’s blog for the rules on works created prior to 1978.

What can’t be copyright protected? Plenty. Here’s a short list from Matt’s blog: “Titles, names, short phrases, slogans, logos, inventions, facts, ideas, and procedures.” Still have to be careful, as trademarks may exist with any of these. Always smart to check first, with the Federal Copyright Office at copyright.gov.

More Legal Protections

Fair Use is a rather complicated part of copyright law; I’m not an attorney but you can read more about it in detail here.

Trademarked products are also protected. Trademarks are often thought of as brands (Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Geico, etc.). If the trademark is used in commerce (like the three I listed), they can be used in perpetuity (like the three I listed). Matt writes:

“Trademarks can be words, symbols, slogans, logos, packaging, colors, figurines, toys, sounds, scents, or combinations thereof.”

Basically, you can’t use something trademarked by someone else because it causes confusion of ownership “as to the source of the goods.” And you can get into a lot of legal hot water for it. It’s not worth the risk, even with all the gazillion photos and creative art works all over the Internet. Watermark or sign your work to protect your creations. If you’re still not sure how to do this, check out this page from the late (what a loss to our community) Joel Friedlander at The Book Designer. Or on Matt Knight’s blog, Sidebar Saturdays.

#copyright #copyrightinfringment #watermarks #trademark #sidebarsaturday #joelfriedlander #thebookdesigner #worksofart #michelangelo

Protect Yourself and Your Work

What comes to mind, as happens this time of year, is what to do come 2020 to protect our work and ourselves in this global digital world. I wrote a blog post on the Digital Legacy of writers and the importance of preparing your legacy (a part 2 post). What I’m thinking is, it’s even more important to be safe and secure in the digital world, which seems to be getting more difficult all the time as hackers and other ne’er-do-wells invade our privacy, our accounts, our lives.

“You need to be concerned with writer scams popping up all over the web offering unauthorized copies of authors’ books or scamming writers out of money. Writer Beware is one of many sites that track predatory sites and unscrupulous people trying to steal our IP.” A Writer’s Legacy, Part 2

In my calendar for December 26^th, I have a reminder to update my logins and passwords. I try to do this at the end of each year or by the end of January of the new year. Better to be safe than sorry, eh? Yeah, it’s a time-consuming pain, I won’t lie… but I do feel better once it’s complete. I feel like maybe I outsmarted the smart guys – at least for another year.

Kiss Gmail and Chrome Goodbye?

You also might want to consider new email accounts despite the obvious challenge to transferring all your saved emails. Google has a hold on me, granted, but I hope to wean myself of their grip little by little (and maybe for good, we’ll see). And I recently began using DuckDuckGo to reduce my online search transparency. They don’t keep a log of sites you visit because they figure it’s your business, not theirs.

Clean out unused apps, apps that track you wherever you are, apps that don’t serve the greater good in your life. Do you really NEED that word game app? Or that app that turns your face into something other than your face? Think about it; our connectivity, while convenient along with the ability to create a whole lot of goodness in the world, also enslaves us at a level unseen by previous generations. Be careful, is all I’m asking.

Storage Safety

Do you keep copies of your manuscripts/poems/works only on your computer? Not the safest option. Keep hard copies or a thumb drive stashed where only you can find them. Do you use cloud accounts? While I’m not 100% convinced they’re completely secure (seems nothing is, these days), it’s a good way to access your work from anywhere. Use strong passwords to better ensure their safety.

The Upsell – Never Fully Secure?

As I write this post, my AVG software pops up to tell me I’m being tracked, that companies are getting my personal information. Talk about timing. But just how much money do we need to spend to be safe? I’ve got a secure program but it’s always popping up to tell me I need more and more to keep my information safe. Beginning to sound like a snake oil salesman, if you ask me. When is enough actually enough for these data protection services?

My advice?

Keep it simple and safe in 2020.