A large part of professional graphics and image production is Copyrights. You should be informed in this to protect yourself, in both production and post production.
Lets go over the basics.
What is copyright?- According to the United States copyright office:
"Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
-To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords;
-To prepare derivative works based upon the work;
-To distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
-To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
-To display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and
-In the case of sound recordings*, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.
In addition, certain authors of works of visual art have the rights of attribution and integrity as described in section 106A of the 1976 Copyright Act. For further information, request Circular 40, Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts.
It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the copyright law to the owner of copyright. These rights, however, are not unlimited in scope. Sections 107 through 121 of the 1976 Copyright Act establish limitations on these rights. In some cases, these limitations are specified exemptions from copyright liability. One major limitation is the doctrine of “fair use,” which is given a statutory basis in section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act. In other instances, the limitation takes the form of a “compulsory license” under which certain limited uses of copyrighted works are permitted upon payment of specified royalties and compliance with statutory conditions. For further information about the limitations of any of these rights, consult the copyright law or write to the Copyright Office.
*Note: Sound recordings are defined in the law as “works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work.” Common examples include recordings of music, drama, or lectures. A sound recording is not the same as a phonorecord. A phonorecord is the physical object in which works of authorship are embodied. The word “phonorecord” includes cassette tapes, CDs, LPs, 45 r.p.m. disks, as well as other formats."
More simply, Wikipedia defines copyright as:
Copyright is a set of exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular expression of an idea or information. At its most general, it is literally "the right to copy" an original creation. In most cases, these rights are of limited duration. The symbol for copyright is ©, and in some jurisdictions may alternatively be written as either (c) or (C).
For example, I cannot take the McDonalds M logo, and use it for my own personal company, that is copyright infringement on McDonalds registered trademark. The same goes for any artwork or imagery you see out there. Unless you have been granted permission by the creator to use the image for your own purposes, you can't just go and take it. Same applies to your work that you claim copyright to. People cannot legally go and use your stuff without asking you first.
How can I tell what is, and isn't copyrighted?- Pretty much everything that you haven't created is under some form of copyright. All logos and artwork especially. Golden Rule = If you don't know, ask.
There are places where you can find images made specifically for public use, which are royalty free. They are commonly referred to as stock images. With these source pictures, you can use them, edit them, and add them to your own work without need to credit the original creator
In summary, you have to be careful both where you get your images (If you use source images) or, where and how you post your work on the internet. You can get yourself into a lot of trouble if your found to be stealing images, so you should always be aware of what you can and can't use. A lawsuit is always a good thing to avoid
I'll be going over ways to help protect your work from being stolen in my next article. I may also update this article with more information
For much more information, please read -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright
