Intellectual Property and Copyright

Intellectual Property is Copyright

Many people don’t realize that Copyright rights arise as soon as a work is created and the creator of the work is the Copyright owner.

The creator will own and control all of the Intellectual Property rights in works created; in this case, the Intellectual Property right is Copyright, which gives the owner the right to use, copy, perform, distribute, sell and otherwise control the work, as well as prepare derivative works. This is true even if someone paid the creator to create the work for them.

This can become an issue in many creative areas, such as in photography, software development, manuals, website and advertising design, script writing, commissioned works, and drawings or blueprints for a new house design. The person paying for the work to be done often assumes that they own the Copyright in the items produced for them.

Certainly, employers expect that they own the Intellectual Property rights in materials produced by their employees in the course of their jobs. However, to secure their rights they must have a Work for Hire agreement, which specifies that a work is being created for someone under contract and that person, not the creator, will own the results.

Employers can incorporate similar language in employment contracts and company policies and procedures. A Copyright owner can further secure their rights by filing a Copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office, and by applying the correct Copyright notice to their works.

For more information and/or assistance with Copyright protection, contact expert@IntellectualPropertyUmbrella.com.