Know you know this but just in case … the United States law no longer requires the use of a copyright notice on printed material …
“Work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.” For more, see the question, “When is my work protected?” at: http://copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#what
Well, that can place us in an awkward situation when it comes to reproducing anything that might seem to us to be potentially copyright protected because we can’t do that willy nilly.
Used to be we could look for a Copyright disclaimer (usually on the first page) and the phrase “Copyright 2016 © Crouser & Associates, Inc.” and if we didn’t have one, we’d be pretty well good to go.
Not so now even though the notice is still relevant to the copyright status of older works.
Anyway, if you want to know more about it, then get the word direct from the man. I’ve posted the Copyright Circular 3 under “Cheap Advice” at https://crouser.com/shop/, which you may download for FREE. It’s full of great information for you and your CSRs to know.
Bonus Form: Authorization to Reproduce Copyright Material
I’ve also posted an Authorization to Reproduce Copyright Material that you may download as well without cost.
It’s in a word.docx format of standard verbiage so you may import the text into InDesign and make it look pretty as well as customize it for your needs. That way you’ll have a form that you may request customers sign when you are in doubt. Won’t say it’s perfect protection for you, but it should help. Consult your attorney if you need more information.
It’s also posted under “Cheap Advice” under the title Authorization to Reproduce Copyright Material at https://crouser.com/shop/ and it’s FREE. Go to the link and then scroll down.
Comments are closed.