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Copyright infringement insurance coverage
Do You Need Copyright Infringement Insurance Coverage?
People are creating more content now than ever: eBooks, blogs, web journals, MySpace Pages, Podcasts. Every where, in abundance, you’ll find people sharing their ideas and opinions, and creating entertainment for everyone. However, with all the resources available to us, how can we be sure that we’re not violating copyright law? Should we have copyright infringement insurance coverage?
Copyright infringement is the act of using someone else’s copyrighted material – in any form – in our own use without proper allowances. In order to be allowed to use the material, all we may need to do is ask and give the owner royalties, attribution, or some combination thereof. But, occasionally, it’s easy to forget that we need to ask before we use something without rights.
You’re allowed to use copyrighted works in a number of forms – educational and instructional uses, parody, commentary, and news are all forms where you don’t need to ask for use – it’s considered fair use under the copyright law. However, even if you’re using the item of copyright in one of these forms, it would still be wise to inform the owner of your intent before using it.
Of course, you should contact a copyright lawyer before using anyone else’s work(s), but to keep yourself safe, copyright infringement insurance coverage may be a good bet for you and your colleagues.
Should you have copyright infringement insurance coverage?
Although this is a new concept, it is one we should look at closely as creators. A well-known adage “there is no completely original idea” comes into play in our current age – while it’s entirely possible for us to have a thought, and act upon the thought – there may be, somewhere, someone who has created close to the same material as we have, without our knowing. Did we create it first? Did they? Would they be able to sue you for copyright infringement? These are the things to ponder as we create our media – should we have copyright infringement insurance coverage?
What is copyright infringement insurance coverage?
This coverage would be insurance for covering the cost to settle lawsuits brought in regards to copyright infringement – it would be a small amount of coverage. For example, you would only need around $5,000 to cover the court and attorney fees associated with a case, if a suit were brought against a person. Theoretically, you would only pay under $25 per year and would cover up to the five thousand dollar settlement should a case be brought against you.
How would you use copyright infringement insurance coverage?
Hopefully, you’d never have to use your copyright infringement insurance coverage. But, it would be there in case a charge was ever brought to you on copyright infringement
With so many of us – bloggers, columnists, podcasters – creating our own content, it’s in our best interest to consider something such as this. We may not always get the rights we need in order to use a work, either whole or in part.
As you can see, it can be critical to have copyright infringement insurance coverage as a blogger, podcaster, columnist, or other content creator. It’s imperative that we know our rights to use something (or to NOT use something) and what we can do to protect yourself. Copyright infringement can carry a serious penalty, and insurance coverage is a good way to insure that you’re protected from hefty fines. Talk to you current insurance provider and copyright lawyer to find out what you need to do, and what you need to know, to get proper insurance for your needs.
Music Copyright Law Are You Violating Music Copyright Law? With the popularity of the Internet, many people are violating music copyright law and do not even know it. Music copyright law can be very tricky. There are multiple music copyrights that you must keep in mind – lyrics, composition and the recording of the music by an artist. Using someone’s music may involve you acquiring many different licenses such as mechanical, synchronization, performance and publishing licenses. Music copyright law has separate copyrights for the vocal or instrumental recordings of a composition or performance and the copyright of the written lyrics and music. Standard music copyrighting practices usually entail that the writer of the song retains the rights to the right to the music composition which the studio that did the recording of the music holds the rights of the recording. Music copyright law can get very complicated. It can involve negotiations with the writers, producers, agents, heirs and more. Many artists and studios are upset with the decline in music sales. They are attributing this decline to people who are violating music copyright law by downloading music on the Internet. Music files are under the same copyright law as music recordings and the owners of these copyrights are entitled to royalties or compensation for the music that people are illegally downloading on the Internet. The simple fact is you are stealing if you make copies of copyrighted music recordings without authorization to do so. If people were sued for the music they have downloaded illegally, it could result in thousands of dollars. Music copyright law states that it is illegal to duplicate and distribute creative work. If you send someone an email with a song that you have illegally downloaded on the Internet, you could be in for some serious trouble. To put it bluntly and plainly, if you download (or upload) music that is copyrighted without permission to do so, you are breaking the law. Many people violate music copyright law and do not even understand how their actions are criminal. If you purchase a music CD you can make a copy of it for yourself on your MP3. However, if you then use that recording and put it on your website or blog and make it available for everyone to download, you are performing an illegal act. Even if you join a site and pay a fee to download music you are in violation of music copyright law. This may sound like something that would never come back to haunt you. After all, if you were caught, it would be a first time offense, right? Well, you should know that there have been first time offenders who have been fined up to $250,000 and up to five years in jail for violating music copyright law. It is so much easier to go out and pay 20 bucks for a CD. Whether you are uploading music or downloading music, educate yourself on music copyright law. No one wants to ruin their financial future and face jail time. Enjoy music, just do it the right way! Copyright lawyer rating Determining what's in a Copyright Lawyer Rating You can find a copyright lawyer rating these days by doing a quick search online or by subscribing to a mailing list to the copyright lawyer guild. What goes into determining a copyright lawyer rating may be how many cases he/she has won or lost? The person that has won the most cases will be at the top of the rating chart, however someone that just comes in may be at the bottom for lack of experience. If you are searching for a copyright lawyer you will want the best but keep in mind that if they already know their copyright lawyer rating is high, their price might be raised more than the others in the field. So, make sure this is someone you want to represent you or to do your filing. If you are simply getting a copyright you probably don’t have to have the best and can go with your average rating. Someone suing you for copyright infringement or something else means you may want the best; you don’t want one that had a bad copyright lawyer rating. Do you? Today many companies are offering their own little search areas for towns, you might find a whole list of companies that need reviews and chances are those that are all bad rating are from one person. These sites are very new and popping up everywhere, the only way to find out how true the copyright lawyer rating, is by asking them. Another way they do a copyright lawyer rating is by passing out a few sheets of papers with a bunch of copyright lawyers names on them and having their peers rate them. I don’t really consider this fair because someone with the same amount of time and wants to be top in the field may mark their competition down just to get up on top. Not to mention how can they rate them when they may have never heard of them. Do you give that person a bad rating or a one star because you have no clue how they perform? Do you leave it blank? Find out why a copyright lawyer rating got the marks they did. Keep in mind that a client that didn’t win a case can have it out for them and rating them bad or review them as bad in every site that they can, which can cause a big drop in ratings, especially if they are new. Not all lawyers like that fact that just about anyone can rate them online these days, it was easier when their ratings only went with what cases they dealt with, how many they represented and their win/lose streak. There is a website called Martindale, it gives you ratings of many lawyers. This is a great site to come view to find lawyers in all types of fields, not just copyrighting. Explore it, there are a ton of reviews written by lawyers and clients, there are also legal articles, cases, events and much more for you to look at. Don’t forget about the peer ratings, which you can find person most qualified to help you. This is one place that does seem fair when giving out their copyright lawyer rating, they make sure that the top person can only be rated if they’ve been in that field for over 10 years, which makes it fair to a person that has very little experience. They won’t be on the rating list which means they won’t be at the bottom of the list. Remember, if your copyright lawyer rating isn’t up there doesn’t mean he/she is bad, they may have requested not to have it published or may not have been in the field long enough to be judge. The best judge for them will be you. |