Legal Easel

You can protect your trademark by registering it with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This is best done in consultation with an attorney.

No, but registration has many advantages. It establishes your ownership of the mark, provides a basis on which to contest infringement of the mark, and increases the damages which you may obtain if someone uses the mark without permission.

a. Do I need to be concerned with copyright if I show my work in galleries?

Yes. Copyright governs the display of your works. Even though you legally retain your copyright after you sell your tangible work when you transfer it to a buyer, it is wise to ensure that the purchaser understands this, and that your copyright is protected before the work leaves your possession.

b. Do I need to be concerned with copyright if my work is produced for publication?

Yes—even more than someone whose work is primarily shown in galleries. Copyright governs the reproduction of your work, which means that you have to be aware of—and protect—your copyrights when your work is reproduced in any way, whether in gallery catalogs, in any form of printed matter, on websites, or on merchandise.

c. Can I copyright or trademark my artistic style?

No. “Style” is not copyrightable, but copyright may cover elements of an image which you have created if someone else copies it.

Yes.  If your unpublished manuscript is used without your permission and the work has not been registered, your remedies are severely restricted if you have not registered the work with the U.S. Copyright Office.

As with drawn or written work, the best protection for music is early copyright registration. There are two forms of registration which may apply to music: registration of the written music, and registration of the sound recording. A songwriter who performs his or her own works should secure both forms of protection.

“Entertainment law” is grounded in the copyright licensing of works used in the entertainment field, such as musical or dramatic works used in television or film, but entertainment agreements may also encompass matters which go beyond acquisition of rights, distribution of the work and division of proceeds, such as options, production financing, personal services, name credits, and trademarks. 

Graphic design covers many different forms of graphic art. Some graphic design is copyrightable, some is not–typefaces, for example, are not protected by copyright. Graphics, the written material which accompanies the graphics, and sometimes the layout of the graphics can be protected by copyright. Many graphic designers mistakenly do not seek copyright protection for any of their work, and in consequence suffer if their designs are re-purposed by clients without express permission.

It is more accurate to say that the elements of a website which are copyrightable can be registered. A website may have many copyrightable elements, such as the images, the text, and perhaps the underlying design of the website. These elements can–and should–be registered separately. A website should never be simply registered page by page.

“Licensing” is the term for granting or obtaining permission from the owner to use a trademark or copyright.

A “license” is the formal permission you grant to someone for use of your trademark or copyright. The terms under which you grant your license should be governed by a written agreement.