A copyright primer for the uninitiated. If you buy a music record from the store, do you think that youre able to take all of the songs and resell them as your own? Of course not. Only an idiot would think that Jay-Z, for example, has given you the right to his music, to exploit it any which way youd like. Indeed, if Jay-Z found out that you were selling his songs, absent a license, hed sue your ass for copyright infringement faster than you could blink. Heres the deal: all youve done, when you buy an album, is purchase a personal right to play the music to your hearts content. Nothing more. Lets look at another example. Pretend as though you had a photographer do a personal photoshoot for you. Do you think that you now have the right to take those images and exploit them -- even though its not your intellectual property? Unless you have a global release from the photographer, whereby the photographer gives you the right to use those images both personally and commercially, all youve paid for is a personal right to use the images in a non-commercial manner. If youd like to exploit the images in a commercial capacity, youll need to get a license from the photographer to do so. If youre unsure about how this stuff works in practice, you should consult legal counsel before you embark on an expensive commercial project using someone elses intellectual property. Getting legal advice before you spend a lot of money, will save you a lot of headache and monetary pain later. That said, if lawsuits and potential treble damages dont concern you, then, by all means, use someone elses intellectual property in a way that may not be authorized for your particular use. Understand, though, that you do it at your own economic peril.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 03:42:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015