Intro
Whether you’re looking to protect your intellectual property with a copyright or involved in an infringement dispute over who owns it, an experienced copyright lawyer can explain your legal rights and represent your interests.
What Is A Copyright?
A copyright is intellectual property (IP) for an original creative work (e.g. a book, software, movie, etc.).
Why is a copyright important?
The copyright owner has the virtually exclusive right (with a few exceptions such as fair use) to the work. This includes reproducing, performing, or creating derivative works (e.g. turning a novel into a screenplay or having it translated into another language).
Related Article: About Intellectual Property Lawyer Herbert Joe
However, copyrighted works are frequently licensed.
For example, a composer may license use of his music in exchange for royalties paid by the licensee.
Similarly, a playwright may license his work so that it can be performed in a theater.
Can An Idea Be Copyrighted?
It’s a common misconception that ideas are copyrightable. However, only the expression of those ideas are protected by U.S. copyright law.
The ideas expressed in your copyrighted work can generally be freely borrowed and used by others. This is why you see novels by different authors express the “hero’s journey” (e.g. JRR Tolkien’s Frodo and JK Rowling’s Harry Potter) and thousands of pop songs about a broken heart.