I created this slide deck to give as a handout to attendees of the Southern Christian Writers Conference where I was asked to speak on the topic: "The Writer & the Law." Video clips of the session are now available here: http://benfranklinfollies.com/2012/06/19/video-of-the-writer-the-law-session-at-scwc/

1. The Writer & the Law
Southern Christian Writers Conference
June 8-9, 2012
Sheree Martin, J.D., LL.M., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Samford University

2. Connect With Sheree:
Email:
Blog: www.benfranklinfollies.com
--I'll post the slide deck here, along with key points and links to resources.
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ShereeM
Twitter: @RealSheree
Google+: http://gplus.to/Sheree

3. Topics We'll Cover (Very Briefly!)
Copyright Overview (Basics)
Scraping
Assignment of Rights (Licensing)
Works for Hire
Derivative Works
The Creative Commons
Photos
Right of Publicity

4. Copyright Law & Plagiarism
Plagiarism = Claiming authorship of someone
else's work.
Copyright Infringement = Using work without
permission.
• All plagiarism is also a copyright infringement.
• Not all copyright infringement is plagiarism.
• Copyright infringement usually occurs without plagiarism.

5. Copyright Overview: Basics
Ideas
Original Creative Works
Authorship
Protection exists when "fixed in a tangible
medium"
Term of Protection
Registration
Copyright Notice
Fair Use

6. Copyright Basics, cont.
Term of Protection:
U.S. Constitution: A
“reasonable” term
• 14 years + 14 years
• 28 years +
• 50 years +
• Disney’s efforts to
extend…..
Today:
Individuals
–70 years plus life of the
author
•Corporate author
–Films, TV shows, for
example
–95 years from publication
OR 125 years from
creation, whichever shorter

7. Copyright &Fair Use
Factors to be considered:
•Purpose and character of the use
•Nature of the copyrighted work
•Amount and substantiality of the portion
used in relation to the copyrighted work as
a whole
•Effect of use on potential market for or
value of the copyrighted work

8. Scraping
Scraped by:
http://www.organicrapeseedoil.com/organic-rapeseed-
oil/healthy-baked-catfish-the-ben-franklin-follies.html

9. Assignment of Rights/Licensing
All Rights Tip:
• Exclusive Make sure contract
Worldwide Rights provides that all
Limited Rights rights revert to
• First North author if book goes
out of print so
American Serial
• Electronic
author can self-
publish as e-book.
• Exclusive
• Non-Exclusive

10. Works for Hire
Copyright belongs to the owner, not the author.
The author has no rights in these creations.
Employees
Freelancers

11. Derivative Works
Example: Harry Potter Lexicon
As author, don't give up right to derivative
works unless you're compensated
appropriately. Real value is often in right to
create derivative works.
--Life Stories
--Personal Anecdotes

12. The Creative Commons is Cool
Info: www.creativecommons.org
You can pre-authorize others to use your work
and establish the conditions for that use.
You can locate CC licensed works that you can
use in your own work, subject to the defined
conditions.

13. Using Photos
Copyright Issues
Creative Commons License Available?
Other Licenses
Public Domain
--Library of Congress

14. Rights of Publicity
Basic Premise:
• Everyone has a right to control the
commercial use of their name or likeness
• Problem Areas: Advertising, Promotions,
Perceived Endorsements
First Amendment Protections:
• Newsworthiness
• Transformative

15. Resources (More + Links on Blog)
U.S. Copyright Office: www.copyright.gov
• Download many booklets and brochures in
PDF
Preventing Scraping in WordPress:
• http://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/beginners-
guide-to-preventing-blog-content-scraping-in-wordpress/