Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California
What Is Copyright and when does it apply?
I belong to groups that share virtual stationary. Many group members make stationary (backgrounds for email) with graphics found online, like characters from Disney & Warner Bros., but also lesser known artists. Most letter makers don�t ask permission or give credit for use of the graphics. Now many graphic artists are angry & threatening to sue. Someone�s lawyer said it�s ok to use any graphics without permission if we put their logo on the letter, & that Disney won�t sue because we aren�t a big problem. 1.Is a graphic copyrighted when it�s created or must the artist pay for a copyright before it�s legally theirs? 2.When using someone�s graphic, must we have permission & give them credit? If we put their trademark on it does that protect us or can they still sue if we didn�t get their permission? 3.What is copyright infringement & trademark infringement? 4.Have corporations like Disney sued in the past & will they sue us now even if we credit them & make no profit from their graphics? Until we get an answer from someone who knows the law, misinformation will continue to spread & no one will listen. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Melissa Clancy
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: What Is Copyright and when does it apply?
1. Copyright exists at the moment of creation, even if the artist never registers or provides notice.
2. You must have permission to use someone else's work. They may require credit or they may not. That you must work out with them.
3. Copyright deals with things in a fixed format. Trademark covers names.
4. Disney has sued over copyright. Whether they will sue you, I do not know.
Re: What Is Copyright and when does it apply?
Copyright is a highly specialized area of law, and most attorneys who do not specialize in this area are not familiar with its peculiarities. "Someone's lawyer" sounds as if he/she does not understand copyright. And, the Disney Company is well known among IP attorneys to be among the most aggressive at protecting its copyrights and trademarks, and has sued even very small retailers to do so.
Copyright attaches at the moment of creation and does not require registration or any other formality to be effective. Copyright owners have the right to control how their copyrighted material is used and by whom, including payments and credits.
Copyright infringement (and trademark infringement) is the use of someone else's copyright without the owner's permission and has NOTHING TO DO with whether the use is for profit or not. Giving credit will not protect you if you don't have the owner's permission.
You should also know that there are minimum damages a copyright owner can recover, even if there are no profits from the infringing use.
Put in the simplest terms, copyright is a form of property; taking someone else's property without permission is stealing.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
