Posts filed under 'frequently asked questions'
You already know the Internet is a great way for you to show others your original creations. But did you know that millions may be viewing your work and thinking someone else made it? That’s right…that’s because there’s some unscrupulous people out there stealing your work and calling it their own; sometimes even making tons of money…but never sharing the cash with you!
What would you do if you found out someone used your work without permission? How could you even prove the work is yours? These are all great questions and luckily you discovered My Free Copyright—helping protect your creations.
Never before has it been so easy to create and share your original creations and copyright protection needs to be taken seriously by anyone who doesn’t want their work stolen. So how do you protect your work in this digital world?
Did you know if your copyright is infringed, a notice to the infringer to work out arrangements for copyright removal, recognition, or royalties works for the majority of copyright infringement occurrences? This is beneficial for both parties because the author gets credit and royalties and the would be infringer gets the work they wanted and a contact for more work. You also get to avoid the painstakingly long and expensive court battle. Notifying the infringer is also recommended because with most copyright laws, the infringer can be held unaccountable for the infringement if they can prove they did not know they were infringing. By displaying the My Free Copyright Registered & Protected logo in all locations you display your original creations and notifying the infringer when an infringement occurs guarantees that they will be held accountable.
The real trick in today’s times is to be able to prove you are the copyright owner and when you created it. My Free Copyright provides you with a verifiable dated record associating your copyright, you, and your terms of use. Once registered, you can use the My Free Copyright logo to deter infringers and act as your first level of defense. If an infringement should occur, you can use the My Free Copyright registration to prove to the infringer you are the owner and what you would like them to do. In the United States if notifying the infringer did not resolve the recognition or royalties you require and you need to go to a court of law, you are Required to register with the United States Copyright Office before you can file for a litigation trial. Filing for the registration costs $45 For the U.K. and most of Europe along with South America, the registration you receive from My Free Copyright may be enough to represent you and prove you are the copyright owner in a court of law. See a professional in your jurisdiction before moving into a litigation trial in a court of law.
Don’t delay any longer. Start protecting your original creations for FREE now!
January 31st, 2007
My Free Copyright provides a verifiable historical public record associating the copyright, you and its terms of use. This can be used in a court of law to prove you were the creator of the copyright from the time of registration forward.
How can you prove the copyright registration?
The date of registration, the copyright file or text, and their association to you constitute the proof of registration. The registration email is one of the critical components of the proof. The registration email along with the My Free Copyright logs and public record provide an indisputable transaction between you and My Free Copyright. You must keep the registration email to prove this transaction.
The registration email also contains metadata, which is in every email, and shows a date stamp and signature of every server through which the email was sent. The date stamp in the email, matched with the My Free Copyright logs and public record prove the transaction occurred at the recorded date and time. The fingerprint contained in the email proves the copyright, and the email account used for the registration along with your name on record proves that you registered the copyright.
So how do I prove the actual copyright file or text is what I registered?
My Free Copyright captures a digital fingerprint of the copyright during registration and records it in the registration email, public record and logs. In order to verify the fingerprint, the same file used to register with My Free Copyright will have to be used. You can then prove the fingerprint by submitting the copyright to the My Free Copyright verify copyright service. For your convenience, My Free Copyright provides an inexpensive way to backup the same file used during registration with the Safety Deposit service.
Once the actual file or text has been proven by the registration fingerprint, you can submit it as evidence in a court. Depending on the format for the copyright, the court can listen, watch, view or read it and decide if a copyright infringement exists.
Disclaimer: My Free Copyright is not a law firm and suggests that you seek the advice of a professional in your jurisdiction to see what other options are available for you beyond a date registration with My Free Copyright.
January 15th, 2007
Once you have created anything in tangible form, it has a copyright and is automatically protected under the internationally accepted Berne Convention copyright agreement.
So, you might ask, “If I already have a copyright and copyright protection. Is this enough?”
Not in this fast paced era of digital creations and easy distribution over the internet. If you find someone using your work, how do you prove, “This is my creation, and these are my terms?” My Free Copyright creates a public historical record matching you, your copyright, and its terms of use. This registration is verifiable in a court of law and allows you to prove, “I created that.”
You might ask, “Is registering with My Free Copyright enough?”
In most countries, registering with My Free Copyright will be enough; however, some countries have extra guidelines in addition to those stated in the Berne Convention. The United States adds extra requirements to those stated in the Berne Convention. In the United States, you can collect from a copyright infringer their profits and/or your losses if you win a copyright infringement lawsuit. However, you are unable to collect statutory damages from the infringer, which can sometimes be the larger amount collected, unless you complete a registration form and send it to the U.S. government with a check(currently $45.00) for each individual original creation and update to the original creation.
This process is expensive and may not be as practical today as it was in the past given the fast paced exchange of digital information and the use of current technologies. Becasue original digital creations are generated and distributed so quickly on the internet, these extra guidelines are difficult to comply with, which is why we are seeing a new movement beginning in digital copyright protection. This movement was mentioned recently in BusinessWeek and the WSJ.
Registering with My Free Copyright is instant and can be proven in a court of law. If you have more questions or want to pursue other options, you can protect your copyright by registering with My Free Copyright, which creates a verifiable public record; then you can seek the advice of a copyright professional in your jurisdiction.
Do you have an original digital creation you would like to register?
Disclaimer: My Free Copyright is not a law firm and suggests that you seek the advice of a professional in your jurisdiction to see what other options are available for you beyond a date registration with My Free Copyright.
December 27th, 2006
