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More than any other creation, those that spring from artistic ideas speak to the human desire to hear a good song, tell a clever story, and see a spectacular painting. If you are such a creator, you want to ensure nobody else claims ownership of your work. In the event that someone does, you have the opportunity to hold them accountable by proving you own the piece.
Our intellectual property law firm could assist you in registering your work so you have recourse for infringement. We also understand the ramifications of laws that protect online service providers that publish your copyrighted work, a problem that has worsened as the digital age expands. When you need help protecting your one-of-a-kind music, art, film, or novel, a Palm Beach Gardens copyright lawyer is available to provide legal counsel.
Congress enacted laws in 1790 to protect creative expression on a federal level. the artist who paints a picture or writes a book, giving them the right to control the work and prosper from it.
Once an artistic work is registered with U.S. Copyright Office, it is subject to statutory regulation against infringement, allowing a creator to sue those who pirate the work. Artistic work can include all creative and journalistic writing and broadcasts, theatrical productions, visual art (including photographs), music, architectural designs, and computer software. A skilled copyright attorney in Palm Beach Gardens could assess the merits of a creative project and advise on whether it meets the qualifications to secure copyright protection.
Creators who find their copyrighted content online, on social media, or a website hosted by an online service provider (OSP) may consider suing for infringement. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, the federal government gives OSPs some protection against infringement claims under the safe harbors codified in 17 United States Code § 512. The four safe harbors are:
The transitory digital network communications safe harbor absolves OSPs that are only conduits transmitting copyrighted material at the request of a third party. The transmission must be automated, and the OSP cannot modify it and only temporarily store it in the system. If these elements are present, the courts will require the OSP to terminate the infringing subscriber’s account.
The system caching safe harbor protects OSPs that create copies of original material for faster access, called caching, when the caching originates somewhere else, is standard, is not modified or interfered with, and is transmitted at the request of a third party.
The hosting safe harbor concerns copyrighted information on systems at the direction of the system’s users. The OSP cannot know about the infringing material nor how infringement was deduced. The OSP must also act quickly to halt access when they discover infringement and cannot profit from the infringement if it has control over it.
The safe harbor for information location tools is available when OSPs link their users to locations online containing infringing content without knowledge of the infringement. The OSP must disable access and they cannot profit by providing a link.
The laws here are complex, and a Palm Beach Gardens lawyer who is up-to-date on digital copyright law could review online content and advise someone on how they should proceed.
Your art is unique and deserves protection, so you can produce, distribute, license, or sell it to your own benefit. Lomnitzer Law can help by properly registering your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. If a person or entity plagiarizes your work, our tenacious attorneys could protect your rights through cease-and-desist letters and court actions for financial compensation.
Your manuscript, photographs, paintings, screenplay, or original songs are vital to you and protecting them is important to us. Call us to book a consultation and learn how a Palm Beach Gardens copyright lawyer can safeguard your intellectual property.
