Yours truly will be presenting a lecture on copyright law for creative artists this Friday, May 21, 2010, from 9:00 a.m.—1:00 p.m., at the Muskegon Area ISD.  The seminar is intended to cover the basics of copyright law for artists, musicians, and writers with some bonus material on First Amendment, trademark, and right of publicity issues.

The seminar is $30.00 but includes lunch.  Register online at muskegonisd.org/development.  If you have questions contact Rochelle Barr Sartorius at (231) 767-7267 or rsartori@muskegonisd.org.

–Matt

A couple of weeks ago I talked about a recent Washington Post article about slow processing times at the Copyright Office.  The article can be found here and my post here.  The Copyright Office would like you to know they’re on the job:

Copyright Office Improves Processing Time and Service

A recent Washington Post article focused on the lengthy processing times the Copyright Office is experiencing in wake of its transition from a paper-based to an electronic processing environment. The Copyright Office is working diligently to improve processing times and service to the public in general. To clarify, current processing times by filing method are as follows:

• E-Service with Electronic Deposit:  5 months for 90% to be completed; 33% completed in 2.5 months
• E-Service with Physical Deposit: 6.5 months for 90% to be completed; 33% completed in 3 months
• Paper Claims: 18 months for 90% to be completed; 33% completed in 12 months

You can save money and time and help us improve our services by filing claims online via eCO. Please visit www.copyright.gov for more information.

–Matt

Anyone who’s tried to register a copyright in the last year or so knows how frustrating it can be waiting for your registration to be processed.  For years, the copyright office has been woefully under-funded and under-staffed.  It’s a government office that should be at the forefront of technological innovation but, as a recent Washington Post article explains, is sadly overcome by “a growing mountain of paper applications” causing a “serious logjam.”  From the article:

The problem has tripled the processing time for a copyright from six to 18 months, and delays are expected to get worse in coming months. The library’s inspector general has warned that the backlog threatens the integrity of the U.S. copyright system.

The article goes on to argue that these logjams are seriously hurting the “little people” just trying to protect their intellectual property.  But, this, I think, is a little misleading:

Marissa Ditkowsky, a Long Island teenager, has been checking her mailbox for 15 months for the copyright registration for three songs she wrote, recorded and sent on a compact disc to the federal government.

“We lost a whole year,” said her mother, Alita, who wants to launch her guitar-strumming daughter on a music career. At 14, Marissa is too young to appear on “American Idol.” Instead, she wants to sing her songs during open-mike nights at local clubs and make a professional demo she can shop to music companies.

But Alita Ditkowsky does not want her daughter to perform without a copyright, because she fears that Marissa’s songs are so good, someone else will steal them. She said she learned that lesson years ago while trying to get a job at an advertising agency.

The article then explains, “An artist doesn’t need to register a copyright to perform, publish or display an original work.  But a claim filed with the government offers legal protection — it is the only way to stop someone else from copying a work.”

Hold on a second.  To be clear, copyright exists automatically upon creation.  Registration does not, therefore, create the copyright or ownership in the copyright.  Prior to the 1976 Copyright Act, certain formalities such as registration were required to obtain the benefits of copyright, but no more.

It is true, however, that if the copyright owner wants to sue someone in order to enforce her rights against an infringer, Section 411(a) requires that registration of a claim to copyright (or a refusal by the Copyright Office to register a claim) occur before an infringement action may be commenced.   Merely applying for registration is insufficient.  The effect of a slow registration process then is that a copyright owner may be delayed her day in court.  She is not, however, ultimately deprived of any rights.

Personally, failure to receive a timely registration from the Copyright Office wouldn’t prevent me from performing or profiting from my copyrighted work.

–Matt

Growing up in Michigan, New Year’s Day for me meant sitting on a sofa, eating chili, and watching college football.  Over the last ten years, I’ve tried to keep the chili-eating, football-watching tradition alive in my own household.  In doing so, I’ve experimented with my own chili recipe over the years, a vegetarian version, which is pretty good but, admittedly, not perfect.  At least, not yet.  Once I do perfect it, however, if I’m ever persuaded to publish my culinary magnum opus, how do I protect my creation from plagiarism?

Alas, under copyright law, the issue is settled: recipes are not protectable.  The Copyright Office tells us that the “mere listing of ingredients or contents” is not registerable.  Why?  Copyright law protects original expression, not the idea underlying the expression.  (Ideas can be protected under other areas of law, such as patent law or trade secret law, but not copyright.)  My idea for chili, to be published, must be expressed in the form of ingredients and instructions.  Those ingredients and instructions can be expressed in only a very limited number of ways without compromising my idea for the chili.  And where there is but one way to express the idea for my chili (i.e., a recipe), the expression cannot be protected without protecting the idea, which would be contrary to the purpose of copyright law.

–Matt

The subject of copyright has become increasingly complex and confusing as technology has advanced over the past quarter century, and the law has attempted to keep up.  Today, copyrighted material is literally at one’s fingertips, making it imperative for anyone producing or working with copyrighted material, including literary or visual works, to educate themselves about this area of law.

I offer a free lecture to artists and authors introducing the basics of copyright law.  In this lecture, I cover various issues including copyright registration, the scope of exclusive rights, the public domain, the work-made-for-hire doctrine, fair use and infringement, as well as more complex issues concerning licensing copyrighted work and the intersection of copyright law and the Internet.  In an effort to make this material accessible to my audience, I use plain language, without legalese, as well as concrete examples and illustrations.  The lecture is generally a two-hour presentation, and includes time for questions and answers.

If your organization is interested in this program, or if you know of an organization that might be interested, please contact me.

–Matt