Understanding Copyright Protection:Part of Your Marketing Efforts

Most people know the U.S. government’s copyright provides a form of protection to authors, dramatists, composers, and other artists for their original works in print, digital, or other forms. But it’s important for businesses planning event marketing to understand that copyright protection may also extend to the use of written content, images, videos, and graphics in their online presence and print use, including the content in websites, printed material, and tradeshows. At the same time, companies and organizations must avoid copying and using the copyrighted material of others, or they could face legal consequences.

In their summary of copyright protection, the Copyright Clearance Center says that sharing published reports, articles, photos, and other information found online can have implications and put a business at risk of infringement. Businesses can avoid costly surprises in several ways.
   
Protect your original work. This refers to written, recorded, or digital work including the descriptions, explanations, and illustrations of your devices, systems, or methods. This protection may include a fee. In the digital age, your work can be more easily copied than ever before. It could be more cost-effective to pay a fee for the protection of a copyright, trademark, or service mark than to lose unknown amounts of income because you did not obtain such protection.

Avoid copyright infringement. Learn about what is and is not protected by copyright. Train your employees to be aware of the potential for copyright infringement and provide them with up-to-date links to copyright information, including www.copyright.gov and www.copyright.com.
   
Consider trademark protection. A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design, or a combination thereof that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is used for the source of a service rather than goods. Using the TM or SM symbols for your mark alerts the public that you claim rights in the mark, but does not provide the legal protection of a federal trademark registration. (Learn more at the U.S Patent and Trademark Office website at http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks.)

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