Anyone running an arts-related business needs to understand copyright laws. Copyright laws protect the artist from having their work stolen. Essentially, anything that is produced has a copyright. To protect these rights, some people will put a copy of the work into an envelope and mail it to themselves so that the postmark shows the date the work was completed. Most people, though, apply for an official copyright registration.

What Is a Copyright?

The copyright is the legal protection for all published and unpublished work of literary, artistic, or scientific pursuits. The work needs to be in a tangible form, such as a printed copy or a work saved on a hard drive. Copyright laws give the owner of the material exclusive rights to do with it as they choose, including publishing, making reprints to sell, or performing the piece on stage. Anyone else who wants to use the material needs permission from the owner.

Copyright is effective as soon as the document is created and in a tangible form, which can be nothing more than typed and saved in a computer software program. Applying for a copyright registration is not necessary, but it is recommended. By registering the copyright, the owner of the work will be allowed to sue for monetary compensation.

Not everything can be copyrighted. Ideas cannot be copyrighted. Nor can titles, which is why you will see several different works with the same title. Works that can be copyrighted include articles, essays, works of fiction, music lyrics and scores, photography, graphics, and scientific works.

What Is Public Domain?

Copyright on a work does not last forever. Most written work is copyrighted for fifty years with the option for the owner or the owner’s heirs to renew the copyright. Photography copyright has a twenty-five-year span. Once the copyright expires, the work enters the public domain.

Work in the public domain means that the work can be copied or used without permission of the owner. Anything with an expired copyright is in the public domain, but some artists will allow use of their work for no charge. Permission for use without penalty should be clearly marked. If the work is not considered in the public domain, all copyright laws will apply.

One important note: HTML code is not public domain. A lot of people will copy and paste the code for their own website, but this is a violation of copyright.