I mean, I can. But, why?
Since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected and the mark is no longer needed or required. It also bares no legal status.
It’s important to protect Company’s intellectual property! Without it, we are lost!
The Copyright Act of 1976 was designed to address intellectual property questions raised by new forms of communication that did not jive with the previous laws around content protection.
Since the passing of the Copyright Act of 1976 there is no reason to put a copyright on our materials because, at creation, it is granted full US protection.
Wait. What? We don’t need the ©?
Under section 102 of the Copyright Act of 1976, copyright protection automatically extends to
[any] original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.
The only limit of the Copyright Act of 1976 is around systems, processes and ideas. Copyright law protects the expression of facts and ideas, not the ideas and facts themselves. That’s patent level talk.
No, no. None of this makes sense and you’re not a lawyer. We need that copyright symbol and formal name of Company! Protection! This is how we have always done it!
Let’s review real fast: since the Copyright Act of 1976, all content created after 1978 (when the law went into effect), once viewable and consumable through any medium, is protected by US law from use (minus fair use). You can take legal action without any little knickknack symbol.
Since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected. No razzle-dazzle needed.
Then why is it so important we put "© 2018 Company, Inc." on everything?
Sometimes battles continue long after wars are over.
The confusion, I can only assume, stems from the last major law around US copyrighting. The Copyright Act of 1909 states only works that were original, published and had a copyright symbol were protected by federal law.
If this was not done, you had a narrow chance of protection at the state level, but, generally, no ability to claim someone had stolen your original work. Many people continue to abide by the 1909 law over the 1976 law for…I assume…cultural reasons or pagination reasons.
I might point out that we, as creators, already gave up the right to anything we create at Company through contract which negates any of this.
Wait, we are following an Act passed 117 years ago?
Yep.
Protection in the Copyright Act of 1909 was more about when a work becomes public domain and useable by the masses without payment or credit needed.
Back in the olde tyme days, we didn’t have as diverse mediums as we do now and in order to protect all creators, the Copyright Act of 1976 was passed to broaden the scope of federal statutory copyright protection.
That’s why if someone were to post a photo they took on the Internet, for example, you can’t just use it without payment or agreed on credit. I mean, you can, but, you can also run stop signs when no one is looking.
Since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected.
Better safe than sorry. What if someone steals our work? We would need to take them to court and prove our rights with that mark that registers it as copyrighted!
It’s already prote-...ok ok…I see the rabbit hole we are going down.
Let’s assume someone stole your PowerPoint or an elearning and started using it and you got mad and wanted to legally pursue them for copyright infringement.
These materials, owned by Company, are not registered at the US Copyright Office. Because, well, one it’s protected by the Copyright Act of 1976…and…
We need to register!
So, the Copyright Act of 1976 still allows for registration of work through the US Copyright Office, which then has power to determine ownership and other stuff. To register, the Copyright Act of 1976 requires the work to be published for public sale and that published work has to be deposited within the US Copyright Office to accomplish registration.
According to section 411 of the Copyright Act of 1976, registration can be acquired by creator of the work in order to formally start infringement action against another. But, it’s not required.
Even IF registration is rejected or never acquired, infringement action can begin and continue - the court will just determine that the work is copyrightable first.
Again, since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected.
Ok, ok, well. We still need to add "All Right Reserved." So everyone knows they have no rights to use the work.
"All Rights Reserve" is an old phrase that has no legal significance since Aug 2000.
Again, since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected.
Fine. Well, for Company’s protection, we need to add "Proprietary and Confidential" because we can take THAT to court.
The "Proprietary and Confidential" statement has two parts divided by the word "and."
"Confidential" has no legal significance. You can’t say something is confidential and then go after someone who shares the work. My diary had "top secret" on it and I was unable to peruse legal actions against anyone who read it without authorization…I’m kidding, no one cared about my diary.
Confidential information is protected only through contracts and non-disclosures agreements because for anything to be legally binding all parties need to agree to the terms. Without a non-disclosure agreement (consent, if you will) the word "Confidential" is only an alert to the person who has access to the content that someone else deems it confidential.
"Proprietary" indicates the information is unique and original to the industry or entity. It would be a client list or the blueprints for a working time machine. It means that the content is unique and …uhh..yep. That’s all that word means. It’s not legal protection.
Again, since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected.
Do I need to update my copyright every year?
…I was born in 1980, so…I never have…Ok, the battle rages on.
When you see multiply copyright dates on a work, it normally indicates that significant updates or corrections to the content has been made while still falling in the context of the original work. If I wrote a book in 1901 on each of the US Presidents, you might see a copyright update every four years because new content is being added after each election. But, I mean, by 1929 or 1957 it would be public domain anyway…soo…I mean…no
Again, since the Copyright Act of 1976, all work is protected.
Ok, so, no © is needed. Ok. I get it. We are totally protected.
Well, only in the United States.
Copyright is not subjected to international regulations so there is nothing that legally protects content from being used outside of the US regardless of any symbols of actions taken in this country.
