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lois wakeman -> RE: copyright? when and how? (9/22/2004 11:45:07)
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General reply to whole thread:
Two things:
1 Your contract (verbal or written) with the client should address to whom the copyright and IP belong on payment: I always assign it to the client as a freelancer - anything else is a bit shady, I think. Once someone has paid, you shouldn't recycle their work for someone else. If they pay you a license fee to use something in which you retain the IP (like a web application), that is different of course.
2. While copyright exists as an enforceable concept in theory, tracking down infringements and getting removal and/or compensation is another thing entirely. As a small business without huge legal resources or funding, I take the view that absolutely anything I post on the web is, in practical terms, there for the taking. If I find someone has used my words verbatim or my images, I can try a 'cease and desist' notice, but in the end, it's just not worth spending more than a few minutes on, and certainly not worth raising the blood pressure [;)]
You can capitalise on people's magpie tendencies, though. On a photo site of mine, I encourage people to download and use copies of my images, which have a watermark with the site name. I ask that they give me a credit - but even if they don't, I might get some free publicity, and the files are of a low quality and not suitable for serious reproduction, so I haven't really lost out - even if some cheapskate erases the watermark, the print will be rubbish.
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