How To Protect Yourself and Your content

As small business owners, navigating the legal aspects of content production can be a daunting task. When it comes to copyright and fair useit is important to know how to protect yourself and your work as well as how to protect yourself from using other’s copyrighted work improperly.

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. As the owner of a copyright you also have the right to limit its reproduction, distribution, and display.

Copyright laws were created to both protect and encourage the creation of "original works of authorship," per the U.S. Copyright Office.

A few things to know …

Contracts: Make sure to read contracts carefully. If you are working with a brand, remember that the online contract they are sending you has been reviewed by a team of their lawyers and was crafted with their best interest in mind. Don’t agree to anything "in perpetuity" without first having a lawyer review the terms. "Perpetuity" essentially means that another company can use your content in anything they want forever.

Watermarking: Watermarking is a useful tool if you are concerned about being credited on your own visual content (pictures,videos, drawings etc…). Watermark images in contracts, invoices, brochures and even payment reminder emails, If you are concerned about your work being used without your permission.

Fair Use: When using other creators’ content, keep in mind that you can only use them if they are "fair use" and you have transformed the work in some way. This gets complicated, and there is no clear law on what constitutes "fair use" so be careful.

Giving Proper Credit: Make sure you have accurately credited any images you use including collages or "inspiration" posts.

Permissions on Your Own Site and Others: To protect your own work, add language on your site about your copyrighted material, and if and how you will allow readers/users to use your work. The same goes for permissions on other’s sites. When someone re-pins and/or re-uses your work with credit, it can be seen as free marketing.