In the age of unoriginality and plagiarism, it must be a nagging thought in the back of every artist’s mind. What if someone infringes on my intellectual property? The recent news that Apple Computer is trying to deal with problematic fake retail outlets in China just shows that even the biggest of them all becomes a target.
Recently I’ve been exposed to a little infringing of my own, but after subscribing to a visual artists’ legal clinic, I found that I have intellectual property powerhouse, Torys LLP waiting in the wings.
The Canadian Copyright Law is fairly cut and dried. Basically, when an artist creates a piece of work, they own first copyright. You can even register that copyright at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), however, if your creation is digital it automatically is date-stamped with a embedded creation date. Make sure all of your work has a © copyright symbol on it with the publication date.
I was surfing the internet lately and came upon a search engine called Copyscape. This tool uses the power of the major search engines to find infringing content. By entering my personal website domain, I found that an artist in Eastern Ontario had copied my profile text word for word. The search algorithm looks for the oldest version of text and compares it with indexed sites. Usually this kind of situation sorts itself out with a simple cease and desist order. Further action will require my legal counsel. Every page on my website has a © symbol on it with All Rights Reserved to me. Protect your website images by not making them too large. Web-ready files are too small and pixelated to enlarge for reproduction. There are scams out there whereby the artist is asked for the rights to reproduce your art for wallpapers. Invariably the artist is asked for a high resolution image. By giving this image up, unruly people will print and produce your work for money that you never see. Remember, if its too good to be true, don’t do it.
For professional graphic artists, the Canadian copyright laws also protects your intellectual property rights for volunteered ‘pro bono’ creative work. The key is that when no payment has been made, or no rights have been transferred, you own first copyright. If however you created something in the employment of a creative business, you do not own the copyright. This also affects writers and performers.
The Copyright laws were to be amended before the latest Federal elections to protect digital recordings, the use of digital players and more. You can visit the CIPO website to view Bill C-42. You can also learn more about other rights concerning your art.
The bottom line is to protect the integrity of ownership by using the © on everything you do, and take action on any infringements of your rights.
