• Services
  • Attorneys
  • Media & Insights
  • Online Payment
Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. A description of the selection methodology can be found here.
  • Services
  • Attorneys
  • Media & Insights
  • About Us
  • Delivering Value
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Meritas
  • Contact Us
  • Online Payment
    A
    Alternative Dispute ResolutionAntitrust & Trade RegulationAppellate Practice
    B
    Banking & Financial ServicesBankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights, and Financial RestructuringBeer LawBusiness Law
    C
    Cannabis LawConstruction LawCooperative and Condominium Law (Co-op & Condo)Criminal Defense
    E
    Economic Development LawElder Care & Special Needs LawElectronic Discovery ("E-Discovery")Environmental LawERISA & Employee BenefitsEstate Planning and Administration & Wealth PreservationExecutive Compensation and Employment Strategies
    F
    Food, Beverage & HospitalityFranchise Law
    H
    Health Care & Life SciencesHealth Care ProvidersHigher EducationHospitals and Health Networks
    I
    ImmigrationInsurance CoverageIntellectual PropertyIntellectual Property Litigation, Arbitration, and Dispute ResolutionIntellectual Property Portfolio Strategy, Management & LicensingInternational BusinessInternet Law
    L
    Labor & EmploymentLiquor Law, Licensing, Manufacturing, and DistributionLitigation
    M
    Media Law & Creative Economy PracticeMergers & AcquisitionsMunicipal Law
    N
    Non-Profit Law
    P
    Patent Preparation and ProsecutionPharmaceutical / Medical Devices / Pharma ServicesProducts and Consumer Liability DefenseProfessional LiabilityPublic Utilities
    R
    Real Estate, Finance, and Land Use
    S
    SecuritiesSolar Energy
    T
    TaxationTelecommunicationsTrademark & Copyright Protection & Enforcement
    V
    Venture Tech & Emerging Growth Companies
    W
    White Collar Investigations & DefenseWorkers’ Compensation
    • New Jersey
    • New York
    • Pennsylvania
    • Blogs
    • Articles
    • Podcasts
    • COVID-19 Resources

    Categories

    Copyright Copyright Infringement Copyright Licensing Copyright Office Copyright|Copyright Infringement|Intellectual Property Copyright|Copyright Infringement|Intellectual Property|Social Media Copyright|Copyright Infringement|Social Media Copyright|Intellectual Property Copyright|Intellectual Property|Social Media|Trademarks Court Decisions Double Patenting>Same Invention Double Patenting>Terminal Disclaimers Drafting Patents Drafting Patents>Claims Drafting Patents>Claims>Written Description False Advertising Federal Circuit Food & Beverage Food & Beverage|Intellectual Property Food & Beverage|Labeling|Legislation Food & Beverage|Trade Dress Food & Beverage|Trademark Infringement|Trademark Office|Trademark Registration|Trademarks Food & Beverage|Trademark Infringement|Trademarks|Unfair Competition Food & Beverage|Trademark Office|Trademark Registration|Trademarks|TTAB Food & Beverage|Trademark Office|Trademark Registration|TTAB Food & Beverage|Trademark Office|Trademarks Food & Beverage|Trademark Office|Trademarks|TTAB Food & Beverage|Trademark Registration|Trademarks Food & Beverage|Trademarks General In The News Intellectual Property Labeling Lanham Act Legislation Licensing Navigating the Patent Office Navigating the Patent Office>Examiner Interviews Obviousness/Inventive Step>Prima Facie Obviousness Patent Patent Eligibility Privacy Right of Publicity Social Media Supreme Court Trade Dress Trademark Infringement Trademark Infringement|Trademark Office|Trademark Registration|Trademarks Trademark Infringement|Trademark Registration|Trademarks Trademark Infringement|Trademarks Trademark Office Trademark Office|Trademark Registration|Trademarks Trademark Office|Trademark Registration|Trademarks|TTAB Trademark Office|Trademarks Trademark Registration Trademark Registration|Trademarks Trademark Registration|Trademarks|TTAB Trademark Registration|TTAB Trademarks TTAB Uncategorized Unfair Competition
    Blogs > More Than Your Mark® > Copyright Notice Tips: How to...
    Member
    Jeanne Hamburg
    Visit Profile

    Copyright Notice Tips: How to Enhance Protection of Your Creative Works (And When to Call Your Lawyer)

    Copyright Notice Tips: How to Enhance Protection of Your Creative Works (And When to Call Your Lawyer)

    Working today through an interesting copyright notice issue prompted me to write today’s post. While current copyright law doesn’t require a copyright notice, placing one on a creative work such as online content, websites, promotional materials, books, films, sculptures, toys, games, or paintings can enhance the copyright owner’s rights by providing “constructive notice” of those rights. Once the copyright owner has provided that notice, damages for “willful” infringement are available.

    Copyright Notice

    A copyright notice must have three elements: (1) the © symbol; (2) the year of publication (the offer for sale, not manufacture or creation of the work); and (3) the name of the copyright owner. Please note that the copyright owner may be different from the actual creator of the work. For example, if the creator is a full-time employee and creates the work in the scope of employment, the employer is the copyright owner. Additionally, if there is more than one owner of a work, the names of each owner may be listed.

    The identity of the copyright owner becomes particularly tricky in some situations. The one I was dealing with today involved the creation of a so-called “derivative work.” A derivative work is one which is based upon the original. The right to make derivative works (also sometimes referred to as the “adaptation right”) is one of the exclusive rights conferred by copyright ownership (the others are the right to reproduce, distribute, perform and display the creative work).

    Derivative Works

    Some examples of derivative works are: a translation, a play or film based upon a book, a new edition of a book, a new version of a website or other content, a sculptural work based on a drawing, or a drawing based on a photograph. The derivative work “fully embodies” the original copyrightable work, so it is appropriate to include the original copyright owner in the copyright notice. But to be a truly derivative work, it should also include additional new material that is copyrightable. In that context, it is wise to consult with an attorney to determine who to credit: the original copyright owner, the person or entity who created the additional copyrightable elements, or both. The situation is very fact specific.

    Your counsel will need to determine whether copyright was assigned by the copyright owner to the owner of copyright in the derivative work; or whether the original copyright owner took an assignment of the copyright in the new elements (the latter is more common than the former). And, of course, the attorney must consider the scope of copyright (if any) in the additional elements – are they sufficiently creative to warrant copyright protection at all? That is why legal guidance is so important.

    For more information on copyright law and how to protect and enforce your copyrights, please feel free to contact me at jhamburg@norris-law.com.

    Member
    Jeanne Hamburg
    Visit Profile

    Related Posts

    Internet Archive’s Unauthorized Lending of Copyrighted eBooks is Not Fair Use The Importance of Copyright Registration Artificial Intelligence Cannot Serve as an Inventor of a Patentable Invention

    Share

    Tags

    #copyright infringement #copyrights #intellectual property #protection

    Helpful links

    • About Us
    • News
    • Services
    • Blogs
    • Attorneys
    • Articles
    • (COVID-19)
    • Award Methodology
    • Events
    • Join our Team
    Connect
    Online Payment

    Connect with Us

    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • Youtube

    Join our growing team

    We are looking for quality attorneys to help us do more for our clients. At Norris McLaughlin, each attorney has the same opportunity to succeed whether you’re at the beginning of a career or pinnacle of the profession.

    Learn More

    Subscribe to our content

    Receive timely legal information delivered to your inbox

    This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
    © , Norris McLaughlin, P.A., All Rights Reserved. Attorney Advertising.
    VIEW OUR DISCLAIMER,  TERMS OF USE,  AND PRIVACY POLICY

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume you consent to our cookie policy. Learn more