Read all about how we use blockchain technology to provide proof of copyright registration here.

Examples of works that require a copyright, include: photographs, literature, music, dramatic or otherwise artistic works, as well as architectural work. There are of course more and more copyrights created every day that do not fall into any of those categories: logos, technological hardware, programming code.

What does holding a copyright allow you to do? Basically, anything:

• Reproduce your work
• Build or take away from aspects of your work. In other words, create derivatives
• Sell you work to the public
• Perform your work (if applicable)
• Display your work publicly 

Although holding a copyright will protect your expression of ideas, it cannot protect an idea in and of itself. For instance, taking a picture at a common scenic spot entitles you to a copyright of the image you took; it does not, however, give you a monopoly over who may or may not create their own reproductions of that same scenic spot in the future.

If you wish to make a profit from your work, you are free to license your creations out for commercial usage. This will allow you to collect revenue without losing ownership of your copyright. In order to formally create such a commercial relationship, it is crucial to have a licensing agreement in place that outlines the exact terms and conditions of usage. As such, the key benefit to owning your copyright is that you are protected by the law against illegal usage… and, of course, you can make money off your work if you so wish. Tools like CopyrightsWorld’s Infringement Monitoring ensure that you are immediately notified of any potential unlawful usage of your copyrighted work.

If the new image is based on a location or generic subject matter that is photographed often, there will likely be no violation of copyright.

Alternatively, an artist might draw inspiration from your style but add their own personal interpretation, thus adding their own creative contribution to your work, be it technique, or lighting style, or even combining several image perspectives into one. This would also not constitute a violation of your infringement rights. 

“Fair use” is perhaps the most identifiable use of copyrighted material that isn’t an infringement violation. A creation is in “Fair use” if it serves the public good. “Fair use” applies when copyrighted materials are used in such fields as teaching, commentary, critique, or reporting. Unfortunately, this means that any satire your work inspires is also fair game, even if you do hold a copyright!

On the other hand, should an artist use a style (or subject matter) that is applicable only to you, if, even after being turned into a painting, the work is still readily identifiable as your creation, copyright infringement laws apply.

Regardless of whether you ultimately decide to pursue legal action or not, the first thing to do when you suspect copyright infringement is get a second opinion from an educated, but unbiased party, such as an attorney, or even an acquaintance. 

Copyright registration is very important for the security of your work, as it gives you additional legal protection against anyone that might use, copy, or distribute your work without your permission. 

What is equally important though is to let other people know that your work is protected. That is because someone might infringe upon your work unintentionally, without knowing that it is protected. Or someone might even want to to compensate you for the use of your work. 

For that purpose you can use the CW Security Badge. The CW Security Badge is an HTML snippet that you can add under your work, so that everyone knows that your work is protected by CopyrightsWorld. You can even place it on  your work online, and anyone who clicks on it will be able to see your Copyright Certification and Proof of Ownership.

You can get a separate CW Security Badge for every asset you submit in your security vault. In the video above you see a step by step guide on how to get it following the next simple steps:

1. Log into your account.
2. Select any already registered file.
3. Click on “view file”.
4. Click on “actions”.
5. Click on “get Security Badge”.
6. Click on “copy code”, to automatically copy the code you need.
7. Paste the code on your HTML file to display the Security Badge when you publish your creation.

Here is a step by step guide that can help you implement your html code on WordPress site. You can always talk to the developer who build your website, they’ll definitely know that to do.

However, we plan to launch a new service soon that provides you with “court-ready” material that you can use to defend yourself in court.