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Copyright |
All artwork within this site is protected by Whimsical Artwork™ copyright, All Rights Reserved. Including any derivative
works thereof. ©1996-2005
As much as I hate to have to remind readers, this information will keep us all happy and safe from lawsuits.
Just a quick overview of copyright information to tuck away in your mind-filing system.
When an artist creates a work of art, the copyright comes into
existence automatically. No registration is required. The copyright
provides the owner with a number of exclusive rights, including the
right to make new versions of the original work, called derivative
works.
The United States Copyright Act prohibits anyone from copying the
original artistic work of another, without permision. Further, if you
use a part of a another's work - even a very small part - without the
copyright owner's consent, you are still infringing the owner's rights.
When you create a new version of a prior work, or even a completely new
work based on the earlier work, you are creating what is called a
derivative work.
What rights does the copyright holder have?
1. The right of reproduction of the work
2. The right of preparation of derivitive works
3. The right of public distribution of the work
4. The right of public performance of the work
5. The right of public display of the work
The penalties for copyright infringement are very harsh: the court can
award up to $150,000 for each separate act of willful infringement.
Willful infringement means that you knew you were infringing and you
did it anyway. Ignorance of the law, though, is no excuse. If you don't
know that you are infringing, you still will be liable for damages.
Understanding the difference between WebArt and clipart:
We all know clip art was made to be cut, clipped, resized etc.
Typically with no terms of copyright. It was specifically made for use
in layout and design of others. Public Domain use.
WebArt can also be used in layout, email stationary etc- yet it
standardly retains the copyright of the artist. Not to be cut, clipped,
resized, or altered in any way. Used as is with some form of mention of
the copyrighted artist.
But I thought because it was on the internet it was Public Domain?
With the advent of the Internet, however, it became possible for
anybody with access to this worldwide network to "post" copyrighted or
otherwise-licensed materials freely and easily. This aggravated an
already established but false belief that, if something is available
through a free source, it must be public domain. Once such material was
available on the net, it could be perfectly copied among thousands or
even millions of computers very quickly and essentially without cost;
Still- this does Not make it automatically Public Domain.
What is Public Domain?
Definition: A public domain work is a creative work that is not protected by copyright and
which may be freely used by everyone.
The reasons that the work is not protected include:
(1) the term of copyright for the work has expired;
(2) the author failed to satisfy statutory formalities to perfect the copyright (Ie: labeling it as such) or
(3) the work is a work of the U.S. Government.
The art created by Whimsical Artwork™ is not public domain.
©1996-2005 Whimsical Artwork™
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Thursday, 07 August 2008
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