Digital Rights

When you upload a video to You Tube, do you own it? What about when you post it on Facebook or your own website? So many things get shared and linked to throughout all types of social media. Where do your rights to your content begin and end? In the U.S. they begin with the language of the copyright act. You can read the entire act if you have a lot of time on your hands, at www.copyright.gov. Once you have created your work in a fixed form -- whether it's on paper, audio tape, video tape, film, or digital file (or some other form of media) you own your content and it is protected by copyright. You may want to register your work with the U.S. copyright office or some other agency (the Writer's Guild registers scripts, for example) to get extra protection. But once you create a work, you own it. Of course we're speaking about original work. If you copy someone else's novel and put your name on it, that doesn't count as an original work. You can't copyright ideas, names, or domain names. If you're creating fan fiction based on characters created by someone else, it's much better if you get permission from the author before you try to sell it. Or try changing the characters' names and circumstances enough so you can call it an original work, and you might have written a smash best seller like 50 Shades of Grey. If you're creating digital content, it's important to read the website's service agreement before you post your clip. Make sure that you are not assigning your copyright by posting your clip; if you're not sure, don't post it. You can always ask a lawyer for information, or at the very least look for help from other content creators and users of the site. As I've said in other posts, don't ever sign a contract with anyone regarding your work, or hire an agent or manager, without having an entertainment lawyer review the agreement first. No one can steal your copyrighted work, but you can give it away if you're not paying attention to the fine print. Bruce Springsteen signed a contract in a parking lot at night without reading it that gave his manager control over his music. it cost him years and millions of dollars to get out of it after he became a star. Allowing people to share content doesn't necessarily mean you give up your rights to it. Make sure you know what rights you own and what rights you're assigning to each piece of content, so you retain control of your work.