YOOdels
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COPYRIGHT
Under the new 1976 copyright act which became effective on Jan 01 1978,
gives an artist a copyright at the moment an original copyrightable
work is created in a fixed form. Every artists has some rights initially
under the copyright law. If an artist is unaware of the copyright law he or
she will receive no benefit from it. It is there for important that an artist
or his/her representative be familiar with the copyright protection and take
the steps to exercise these rights.
The copyright law law provides the copyright owner with a broad category of
exclusive rights, statutorily defined as the following:
1) To reproduce the copyright work in copies or records or
tapes.
2) To prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted work.
3) To distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work
to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by
rental, lease or lending.
these rights significantly protect the artist and their creations.
A copy right has limits. It only prohibits another from actually copying the
identical or substantially similar work. There are some circumstances that
are called "fair use" which is permissible with out the
artists consent. Some examples are copy a piece of work for the purpose
of criticism, news, teaching, scholarship, or research.
An Artist can receive numerous opportunities for compensation
for their copyright. As an example a painter may receive royalties for
the reproduction and sale of a painting by a museum, as well as the
reproduction of the work on postcards, greeting cards, and china. The
potential is almost limitless. The artist may keep all rights personally or
sell the entire copyright or license only selected rights under special
terms. You should check what the law in your area requires in order for you
to notify the person who is now holding the copyright.
For work created after 1978 the copyright act of 1976 affords the
artist or any heirs the right to terminate transfers and licenses of
copyright made by means other than a will. When this termination right is
available the artist can revoke the earlier transfer and has the option of
keeping future rights for personal use,, renegotiating the terms of the
transfer, or transferring the rights to other interested parties, this right
is beneficial to artists who originally received little if any compensation
for the original transfer and who later became established and or recognized.
A copyright grants the copyright owner a number of remedies against a person
who without authorization copies a copyrighted work. These include temporary
or final injunctions against future infringements, impounding and destroying
all copies or phonorecords and all plates, molds, masters, tapes, films
negatives and other articles by means of which such copies or records may be
produced, and damages and profits, It is also possible to receive
attorney's fees.
Copyright protection is available for the original works of artists who fix
their works in any tangible medium of expression. Copyright can provide
protection for artistic works expressed in or on physical articles such
as books, periodicals, manuscripts, notes, cards, sketchbooks, canvas
clay paper and almost all objects which artists expressions can be
fixed. Also copyright law applies to boot the two-dimensional
three-dimensional work works of fine graphic and applied art.
Copyright protections is available for artistic work included in or on
utilitarian objects such as clocks, lamps, textiles, jewelry, china, jewelry
boxes etc.