Now I am no authority on this subject, but I have been doing some investigation into the matter which I thought I would share, and maybe save the rest of you some time not having to hunt around the internet for answers.
Whilst I am not a legal eagle expert type, as a Virtual Assistant I produce documentation on behalf of clients, I create strategic and tactical proposals (my ideas) and am delivering a workshop very soon. I have been thinking carefully about protecting mine and my clients’ original material. I have been looking into best practice for copyrighting (not copywriting) documentation, what happens when you give documents away as handouts or place them online to be accessed by clients or attendees, in closed social media groups and resource areas online.
What I can report from my research is the good news that copyright automatically exists.
So why do people mark ‘copyright’ on paperwork and websites etc? The answer is you can mark your hard work to remind people not to imitate or share your work without permission, but in legal terms it doesn’t actually make any difference whether it is marked or not. It could simply be taken as a warning sign that you are serious about protecting your work.
Here are some options if you’d like to add a mark:
Just the symbol: ©
Symbol and the word: Copyright ©
Add in the date and it gives you a timescale which easily demonstrates you produced the item before another should you reach the claim stages: Copyright © 2019 Gemma Gibbard or Copyright © 2019 Virtual Executive Services MK.
To re-cap, straight from the nice people at Gov (I am sure it used to be Direct Gov):
Copyright prevents people from:
- copying your work
- distributing copies of it, whether free of charge or for sale
- renting or lending copies of your work
- performing, showing or playing your work in public
- making an adaptation of your work
- putting it on the internet
Good to know.
So, what do you need to do now? Well, not a lot, there is no register for copyrighted work (I can only imagine how huge it would be!), your work automatically has copyright, there are no fees to be paid to stake your claim on the work.
Again, straight from the Gov website:
You automatically get copyright protection when you create:
- original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work, including illustration and photography
- original non-literary written work, such as software, web content and databases
- sound and music recordings
- film and television recordings
- broadcasts
- the layout of published editions of written, dramatic and musical works
It is also worth knowing, that in most countries copyright lasts a minimum of life plus 50 years for most written work and 25 years for photographs. (Gov 2019).
While I was at it, I thought I would do some digging into the full meaning of intellectual property.
What counts as intellectual property?
Intellectual property is something unique that you have physically created. An idea by itself isn’t considered intellectual property, but a specific, unique tangible outcome which has been produced is.
When is something your intellectual property?
- you created it (and it meets the requirements for copyright, a patent or a design)
- you bought intellectual property rights from the creator or a previous owner
- you have a brand that could be a trademark, eg a well-known product name
Intellectual property can:
- have more than one owner
- belong to people or businesses
- be sold or transferred
(Gov 19)
What about when you are self-employed? You will usually own the intellectual property, even if the work was commissioned by someone else, unless specified in a contract that they own the rights. As an employee you usually won’t own intellectual property for something which you created when employed by someone else.
What if you want to use something owned by someone else? You can ask their permission or buy the rights to use it e.g. if you want some music to play throughout a YouTube video or use a photo someone has shared on Facebook, you will often see a comment to the poster asking if they would be happy for their image to be used by xyz on their post, we used to do it when I worked on the Audi UK social accounts, to get some great user pics on the company feed.
Did you know? If you use someone else’s copyright or design without their permission, it is considered ‘IP infringement’ and can lead to a fine, prison or both.
It’s reassuring to know that your unique content, such as training materials and course content are recognised as belonging to you. Equally you know where you stand with borrowing from others, such as copying a photo from Google images, don’t do it!!
If you are interested in finding out about more legal terminology…only joking, if you’d like to find out more about my Virtual Assistant services you can take a look at the rest of my website, or find me on any number of social channels. If you are curious about the workshop I am delivering, it will be covering practical tips for social media for small business, ideal for the entrepreneurs, sole traders and those of you about to take the plunge into self-employment in the Buckingham area. Check out https://creationeducation.co.uk/ but be quick as places are getting snapped up and the workshops start soon.
Caveat: This article is not legal advice, I have no background in, or authority to provide any legal advice and would suggest you check out https://www.gov.uk/ or contact a professional registered legal representative.
About Virtual Executive Services MK
Virtual Executive Services MK is a Virtual Assistant service based in Milton Keynes, supporting clients across the UK. Specialising in admin, marketing and social media support for small businesses, start ups and entrepreneurs. Find out more.