Erin Austin: Hello, ladies.
Welcome to this week's episode
of the hourly to exit podcast.
This week is part two of
a three part series about
copyright infringement basics.
This week, we're going to
talk about how to avoid
accidentally infringing
someone else's copyright.
Including the podcast, in
part one, which I encourage
you to listen to if you
have not already, we talked
about the consequences and
penalties that can be levied
against an infringer, and
they include money damages
as well as criminal charges
in the case of intentional
infringement or repeated
patterns of infringement.
Of course, no one
is listening to this
podcast wants to do that.
Not just because you don't
want to get caught, but
because we have an ethical
duty to respect each other's
property and intellectual
property is property.
When we think about IP as
inventory, which when you
are an expert, intellectual
property is your inventory.
There is no other business
that we would think that
we can get our inventory
for free, or that we can
borrow somebody else's
inventory and profit from
it without their permission.
That would never happen in
any other business and the
same rules apply when we are
experts and our inventory
is intellectual property.
whether it's that we
create ourselves or that
somebody else creates,
and that we bring into our
business to help create
additional inventory.
I do have an episode
about, IP is inventory.
throughout my episodes,
if I refer to something
that I wrote about or a
previous episode, you can
always go to my website,
think beyond dot com and,
search for it, usually, in
the blog under the blog.
There is a search function
now, for those of you who
know this stuff better than
me, I have been looking for
much better search tool.
because I have so much
content on my website,
including, podcast that I
host and then, a guest on and.
All the stuff I write,
a lot of free resources.
I'd love to have a really good
comprehensive search tool.
So if you have any leads,
please send them to me.
Thanks.
Anyway, back to copyright
infringement basics.
So, IP is inventory.
We don't get to use other
people's inventory for free
or without their permission.
And it happens too much when
it comes to intellectual
property, and our expertise,
because, we can't put in our
hand, you know, like bolts
or, planks and things like
that that we know we have to
buy in order to get the wood
to create a building or to
get the screws to make a car.
because we can
access people's.
Intellectual property, we
can access their expertise
over the Internet, and
we can get it for free.
You're listening
to this for free.
even though it is my
intellectual property,
you can get it for free.
But even though everyone else.
May say, oh, everyone's
getting their initial property
for free off the Internet,
but we aren't because here
at hourly to exit, we believe
in building businesses that
poor put more wealth in the
hands of women and we are
not stealing from each other.
So, let's start with the
assumption that we all
want to do the right thing.
That we want to be fair,
let's call it the golden
rule of copyright that to
do on to others as we would
have them do on to you.
So that means it is our duty
to educate ourselves so that
we don't infringe copyrights
due to our ignorance.
Now, I'm going to make
the assumption that you
would never intentionally
infringe someone else's
copyright and that if it
happens, it's Because you
don't know any better.
So that is what this, episode
is about is making sure
that we don't accidentally
infringe on copyright because
we don't know any better.
And by the way, ignorance is
not a defense with respect
to copyright infringement.
So there will be, 5 steps to
avoid accidentally infringing
someone else's copyright.
1st, educate yourself
about what copyright is.
Number 2 is doing your
research before you use it.
Number 3 is seeking
permission before you use it.
4 is, take advantage of
resources that are in
the public domain or,
can be easily licensed.
And then 5 is keeping
records to make sure you
know the limits of the
permissions that you do have.
All right, from the top,
educate yourself about
the copyright basics.
You need to understand
what copyright is
and what it protects.
This will be a bit
of an overview.
You know, I talk about
copyrights a lot, but,
in the interest of
completeness, we'll also
just have a brief overview
of the copyright basics.
So, what does
copyright protect?
Copyright law protects
original works of authorship
fixed in a tangible
medium of expression.
So that would include
livery works, both fiction
and nonfiction, music,
art, videos, television,
choreography, photographs,
sculpture, anything that is
original, and that has been
put in a tangible medium
of expression tangible does
mean digital, by the way.
So, something that's on
the Internet, even if you
can't pick it up and put in
your hand, it's been fixed
in a medium of expression.
Meaning other people
can perceive it without,
you being there.
So, if I, say this exact thing
that I'm, going to talk about
in this episode today, but I
say it on the front steps of
a, courthouse, on my box on
my soapbox and, I don't fix
it in any kind of tangible
expression, Be get without
recording it in any way.
It's not hasn't been fixed
and therefore it's not
protected by copyright law.
so exclusive rights that you
get when you have a copyright.
Copyrights are
basically a bundle.
You'll hear it in the
singular and in the plural
and it's the copyrights
are a bundle of rights that
the owner has exclusively.
Over the use of their work,
and those include the right
to copy the work, the right
to distribute the works to
the public, the right to
prepare derivative works
based on that, such as, you
translation or an abridgment
or turning it into a course
or creating a video out of it.
to publicly
perform their work.
and so that would be, if I
have this script and then I
go stand on my soapbox, I've
put it in fixed, form before
I started speaking and now
I publicly perform it, that
would be one of the rights
that I have exclusively
as a copyright owner of
this script, including
live performances and
streaming over the Internet.
To publicly display their
work, including display
of artwork in public
places and on websites.
So, even if I own piece
of artwork, I go to
art fair this weekend.
I buy the physical
piece of artwork.
I bring it home.
I own that physical piece
of artwork, but I can't.
Put it online or, show
it off in a museum
because the copyright
in that piece of artwork
stayed with that artist.
I only own that physical,
canvas with the paint on it,
but I don't own the copyright.
The ability to make copies
distribute copies to create
derivatives that still stays
with the copyright owner.
So copyright notice
is not required.
Copyright notices that see
in a circle that should
be accompanied by the year
that it was published and
the name of the author.
That is your
standard copyright.
Notice is not been
required since I think
in 1976, if I'm correct.
So, assuming that you're
looking at a work Is,
modern the 2nd, within the
last 50 years published
within the last 50 years,
the copyright notice is not
required copyright protections
at the moment of creation.
And so what that means is that
there is a massive amount of
original expression that's
posted online every day.
That is protected by
copyright, even if there's
no copyright notice on it,
even if the creator had no
thoughts about copyright
protection when she created
it and posted it, but under
law, copyright protection
attaches automatically.
and just to clarify
that not every use of a
copyrighted work without
the owner's permission would
infringe the copyright.
So it has to infringe on one
of those exclusive rights.
Making copies, distributing
it, making derivatives,
publicly performing,
publicly displaying it.
So, if you're not doing
any of those things with
somebody's copyrighted
work, then you're not
infringing their copyright.
So, for instance, if You're
in your car singing a song,
that is a copyrighted work and
you are performing it, but you
aren't publicly performing it.
So that would not be a
copyright infringement.
there are some shades
of gray in there.
Of course, when I was
originally thinking about that
example, I was thinking, let's
say you just did it, at the
barbecue, you have a little,
Talent show at the barbecue.
there's that fine line
between is that public?
And even if it is public,
who's ever going to find out?
And so, I'll always
be very practical.
And the way I talk about
copyrights and contracts, but
I do want you to understand.
What the strict letter
of the law says.
finally, we have the
concept of fair use.
that is the circumstance
where you can have limited
use of somebody else's
copyrighted material without
their permission and without
it being an infringement.
And, that the purposes
include, criticism
or commentary, news,
reporting, education,
scholarship and research.
since you know, the
audience here, we're in
the business of profiting
from our expertise when
we're using other people's
intellectual property,
we're typically using it.
In the course of selling our
services or selling, a product
that we created with our
expertise, we would not fall
generally would not fall in
the area of fair use unless,
the amount we were using was,
de minimis, yes, fair use
exists, but it is a defense.
It is not a right.
It is a defense.
To using somebody else's
copyrighted material
without their permission.
So, the only way to arrive
at a fair use determination
is through a court of law
saying, yeah, you're right.
You used it, but we decided
it wasn't so much that,
it infringed their rights.
And so that is fairly risky.
I discourage people
from relying on fair use
other than instances of
truly demented miss, use.
And if you have questions
about that, of course,
I've written about it, or
you can always talk to me.
Number two, research before
use, before using any
content, whether it's text
or images or music or video
research, it's copyright
status again, just because
it's online, just because
you can ask that access it
for free doesn't mean that
you can use it, use that
bundle of rights of copying,
making derivatives publicly
displaying doesn't mean you
can do those things just
because it's on the internet.
And once again, the lack of
a copyright notice does not
mean that something isn't
protected by copyright.
So when you're doing your
research, use reputable
sources in the US, you can
search the US Copyright
Office, just Google that they
have an online catalog, where
you can check the copyright
status of a particular work,
you can search it by title,
certainly if it's a The
name of a book or research
paper, by the author or by
a distributor or a website
owner, I consider distributor
publisher website owners
are considered publishers.
and just note that the person
who wrote it, may not be
the same person who owns it.
So, for instance, if somebody
created something in the
course of their employment,
their employer would own it,
not the person who wrote it.
might need to do a little
bit of research to actually
find out who the owner of
the copyrights are versus
who the writer of it was, or
who the creator of it was.
Uh, can also sometimes find.
Licensing and use information
right there with the content.
if you find it on a website or
some sort of online platform,
almost every website and
platform these days as a terms
of use or usage, rights usage
section that will describe
how their content can be used.
some websites, you certainly
those that host creative
content, we'll have
copyright notices, like
some that are aggregators,
specialty, websites that
are, lots of articles
about healthcare issues.
Lots of articles about,
content marketing or
something, and there'll be
different authors and they
might have the, copyright
notices right there with each.
piece of content and then
some may also use creative
commons licenses and we will
talk about that in a minute.
And then you can also
use reverse image
or content search.
So, let's say it's an image.
You're wondering who owns
it Google has a reverse
image function like 10.
I as well that you can search.
And they may be able
to find the original
source of the image.
for text based content, you
can copy the text and put
it in Google, and it may be
able to find the exact match
for that content as well.
And therefore, information
about its copyright status.
Number three, seek permission,
which is also called a license
permission to use intellectual
property is a license.
So if the content is
copyrighted and you want
to use it, reach out to
the copyright holder for
permission to get a license.
So any license that you get.
should be in writing, and
it should clearly define how
you can use the material.
It will say what the scope
of use is, the duration
of the use, for how long
the license, lasts, any
compensation, paying a license
fee, whether it's per use or
per year, or per sale, and
any attribution required.
And then while verbal
permission is valid,
you can absolutely get
a verbal oral license to
use intellectual property.
Now, the issue with that
is what if there's a
misunderstanding and therefore
an unintentional breach.
When you have something
in writing, everybody's
on the same page.
We clearly understand
what the Parameters of our
license, are and therefore
we do not unintentionally
infringe that copyright.
So if you cannot determine
the copyright status, or
if you have determined
that it is copyrighted,
but you can't figure out
how to get permission.
Don't use it.
That's the safest thing
is to not use the content
because there are so many
platforms and websites where
you can find, content that
is either, free to use, or
it's really simple to clear
and get a license for it.
So that would be the fourth
level using copyright free
or licensed resources.
we're here, we'll talk
about public domain works
and creative common works.
So 1st, public domain.
So materials are in
the public domain.
They aren't protected
by copyright, and so
they can be freely used.
By anyone.
When we say something's in
the public domain, we mean
that it is free for others
to use without obtaining
permission from the owner.
And in other words, it is no
longer protected by copyright.
Some creators will explicitly
release their work to the
public domain, and so let's
talk about ways to identify
public domain materials first.
All items produced by
the federal government
are in the public domain.
Note, this is only the federal
government that does not apply
to state or local governments.
Also, in the U.
S.
all materials published
before 1928 are in the
public domain as of the year.
I'm recording this 2023 and
each January 1, Everything
released 95 years earlier
and to the public domain.
So every year on January
1st, a new crop of materials
enters the public domain.
I'm sure you've heard
a lot about, Disney
materials that have
entered the public domain.
because, Disney goes back to
the 1920s sometime, however,
Disney does have trademarks
on, their characters.
So it doesn't mean
you can use them.
but, the copyrighted materials
do enter the public domain.
if you.
Want to use a copy of an
entire book, you want to
just take the whole thing
was published in 1921.
You can just take it.
It is in public domain.
You can use it.
Now.
That doesn't mean you can
say it's yours and put
your name on it and put
your copyright notice on
there saying it's yours
and register for copyright.
You can't.
It's still.
Owned by the original
copyright owner.
It just means that you
don't need their permission
to use it that way.
And 1, easy way to find out
if something is in the public
domain, especially for books.
Is to check there's a
database called HathiTrust.
That's H A T H I T R U S T.
HathiTrust.
And it is a non profit that
researches the copyright
status of, a lot of works.
And they use an expert
to find out whether or
not it is in the public
domain, either in the U.
S.
and around the world.
And if the entire.
Item is publicly accessible
on their database, then
it is free to download
and print and use it is
in the public domain.
So that's just 1.
I imagine there are others.
I just came across
this while researching
this topic of sources
public domain materials.
There are definitely others.
I know there is an
audio book site.
But I can't remember the
name of Libra, something
like free library, that
has, free recordings of
books in the public domain.
and during the period that a
copyright notice was required,
and I believe that would
be, those things published
before 1976, no copyright
notice, then those did fall
into the public domain.
but any case, we do want to
make sure we're doing our
research before we assume
anything is in the public.
Next.
Creative Commons.
So some authors will choose
to license their work under
Creative Commons licenses.
These provide a standardized
way for creators to grant the
public permission to share
and use their work on the
conditions that they choose.
And so you will see these
are letters, That usually
have a little bit of
graphic that goes with it.
I have written
about this as well.
And you can see some examples
of a creative common licenses
look like, among my blog
posts, there are 6 main types
of creative common licenses.
And basically, when
when it says that
they're standardized,
Something is copyrighted.
You want to use it.
if it's not under creative
common license, you got
to go find the copyright
owner and ask for a license,
negotiate the license.
Hopefully you're getting it in
writing and having it signed
when it's something that's
a creative common license,
then you can just rely on
that creative common license
that is literally attached
right there on the work.
And you don't have to
do anything more other
than comply with the.
Thank you.
Conditions that go with
the specific creative
commons license that
is part of that work.
So the six main types, there
is the creative commons
license by attribution.
So this allows you to
do all the things to
distribute it, to adapt
it, to create new works.
Even to use it commercially,
but the condition is that you
provide appropriate credit
and a link to the license
and then to indicate if any
changes were made and what
you can do in a reasonable
manner, but you cannot suggest
that the license or endorses
you or what you've done.
So that's creative commons
license by attribution.
Now there's creative commons
license by attribution.
Share alike, so similar
to attribution, you can
distribute it, adapt it, build
upon it, use commercially,
provided that you give
an appropriate credit and
you must license any new
creations based upon the
work under the same terms.
So, if you do build upon
their work, let's say you
use it and you use it.
In your course, then you
can only, distribute your
course using a creative
common attribution
share like license.
So that would be
the limitation.
They're creative common
license by attribution.
No derivatives.
So you can use the
work for any purpose
including commercially.
however, you cannot share,
adapted material can't
create derivatives from it.
So here you need to
give appropriate credit
and you cannot modify
the work in any way.
Creative Commons licensed by
attribution non commercial.
You can distribute
adapt, build upon it.
You must give appropriate
credit, but you cannot use
it for commercial purposes.
and that would include,
marketing, if you're
using your marketing for
selling a for profit, item.
So you could use it for, just
purely educational purposes.
but not for
commercial purposes.
creative commons license,
non commercial share alike.
and so, you can, distribute
adapt, build upon it.
You have to give credit, you
can't use it for commercial
purposes, and you have to
license your new creation
based on the same terms.
And then you have creative
commons license by
attribution, non commercial,
no derivatives, you can't
create derivatives, but
you can download it and
share it as long as you
credit the original creator
and you can't use it.
Commercially in any way,
and then there's a thing
called creative common zero.
So, in that case, the
creator has waived all
of their copyright and
related and the work.
They're just throwing
it out into the universe
to use it as you will.
It's in the public domain.
You can use it by anyone
for any purpose without.
Conditions.
All right.
In addition to public domain
and creative commons, there
are a number of platforms
like shutterstock, getting
images where you can get
content that they have,
very simple to license.
They have a whole menu
of ways that you can
license something.
You can license it on
a royalty free basis.
Maybe you pay.
a 1 time fee, and then,
you know, pay anything
else based on the use.
and there are a number
of, ways that you can
license images that way.
I do know that there are
periodicals that are similar,
where they have, articles
that you can license.
They have a whole
licensing process.
So it's not something
you have to.
Kind of negotiate on a,
1 on 1 basis, they have
a process for licensing
and using their articles.
and so that makes it
very simple as well.
Make sure that you're going
to reliable sources though.
So, if you're on a
website that says it's
free and that there's no.
Licensing terms on there,
and by the way, that would
include generative a I, a lot
of times, then you need to
be really careful because you
really don't know whether or
not you're getting the rights
to use the material in the way
that you intend to, and make
sure you always understand
the limits of a license.
again, those licenses
will have a duration, they
may have the, commercial
versus non commercial use.
They may have
geographic restrictions.
so make sure you
understand that.
So you don't.
infringe the license well, I
should put it this way when
you are using that licensed
material in a way that is not.
Authorized in the
license, that is a
copyright infringement.
So we need to stay within
the bounds of the license in
order to not be an infringer.
and of course, give
appropriate credit,
when required.
All right.
So the last strategy.
Keep records and
stay up to date.
It's important to maintain
a record of all the
permissions, licenses,
correspondence, because you
may not have something signed.
You may have just done
something by email about the
content you use anytime you
are incorporating materials.
in the work that you're
delivering to your clients,
or that you're creating to
several or 1 to many products
or services from and it's not
something that you created.
It's not your original work.
You want to make sure you
are maintaining a record
of all those permissions.
licenses, correspondence,
so that you understand the
parameters of your permission.
You need to keep track of
expiration dates or any
other conditions to make
sure you stay in compliance
with those licenses.
establish a system for
archiving them and making
sure that you have evidence
in the event that there is
a, you know, someone says,
Hey, you I see that you're
doing this, did you get the
license to this, make sure
you have evidence of that.
so you can defend
yourself as well.
keep records and then
periodically, get a refresher
regarding copyright law.
You No one's trying to make
you a lawyer, but you do need
to kind of have an overall
awareness of copyright laws
just the same way that you
have an overall awareness
about, financial statements
and things like that.
we just need to be.
Mindful so that we don't
accidentally trip up, and this
will be especially important
as the law continues to evolve
and the boundaries tested with
respect to generative a I and
then if you aren't in the U.
S.
be aware of regional
differences.
I only ever talk about U.
S.
laws.
and there are different
laws in different
parts of the world.
And so if you're not in the U.
S.
make sure you are aware
of those differences.
Last but not least, when in
doubt, seek legal counsel.
Anytime you're unsure about
the copyright status of a
particular work or whether
or not you can use it, how
to use it properly, a license
that you received, maybe
you don't even understand
the license, if it was some
sort of, online license and
you're not completely sure,
consult with a copyright
attorney, including Yours
truly, so if you follow
these steps, maintain a
proactive attitude toward
copyrights, you can minimize
the risk of unintentional
infringement and avoid any
potential legal or ethical
complications or reputational.
Complications, so
that's it for this week.
Join me again next week,
where I will talk about how
to protect your material
from being the victim of
copyright infringement as
always find me at Aaron.
I think beyond IP with
any of your questions.
And if there's any time that
there's something you have
questions about something
that I've covered, do not
hesitate to let me know.
I'm always happy to follow up.
Thanks guys.