Copyright Basics for Independent Creators

Hello creatives,

In today’s post I’m going to be talking about copyright basics for independent creators in the publishing, filmmaking, and video game industries.

As you may know I have been on this massive journey with my book series Vicious Circle and the short film that I have adapted from Vicious Circle. Over the last few years, I’ve been working on securing trademarks for these creative endeavors and I’m nearly there. So let me explain to you a few basics on when it comes to copyrights for creative professionals.

Disclaimer Before We Begin

Now, keep in mind all this information is US centric so if you live outside of the US, the information will probably be different for you. Also keep in mind that I am not an attorney. Therefore, everything in this article is just me sharing what I have learned and sharing my experiences protecting my copyrights. I’ve shared this in other settings as a panelist at conferences because of my experience, but again I’m not an attorney so if you are looking for legal advice, then I highly recommend you go to a lawyer.

What is Copyright?

The US Copyright Office defines copyright as “a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship. As soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression and copyright law, there are a lot of different types of works, including paintings, photographs, illustrations, musical, compositions, sound recordings, computer programs, books, poems, blog, posts, movies, architectural works, plays and so much more.”

That covers a lot of ground, but what exactly does that mean for indie creators? It means that the moment you put an idea on the paper is the moment that you own it.

In my own journey as an author, this means that all of my books are covered under copyright law. I have owned the copyright since I started writing them in elementary school. I own those copyrights for Vicious Circle in all derivative works. This means I own the copyright for all spinoffs, prequels, sequels, and ideas for other forms of Vicious Circle like scripts or video game ideas and stuff like that.

Your Original Ideas Are Protected Under Copyright Law

So as an independent creative, you can rest assured that your original ideas are protected under copyright law. If you want added protections, you can voluntarily register your copyright with the US copyright office. This attaches your name to your idea on the federal level and so should you find someone who is copying you or who has taken your work and is wrongfully trying to distribute or pass it off as their own, then you have some legal grounds for taking action.

Now, that may not always be the case, because there are such a thing as “fair use laws” meaning that people can sample your work as part of broader commentary or if they change a portion of it enough so they can say that it’s not your original idea. You see this a lot in journalism where they sample a clip or on TikTok videos where people will stitch things or on YouTube videos where you have people who comment on pop culture, or who comment on things that are happening in the world. These types of content creation, fall under fair use usually. YouTube, of course has algorithms and policies to help protect the copyright of its users and you can you can claim a copyright strike on anyone’s videos or anyone’s content who you think is taking your copyright.

Another way to protect your copyright when you see copycat is to find a lawyer who can write and send a cease and desist letter. This is usually like a warning letter basically saying you’ll sue if they don’t stop. I thankfully have not had to encounter this yet, but I work with an attorney who has had to write these types of things for her clients.

How Long Does Copyright Last?

Under US copyright law, copyright owners can keep the copyright for the duration of their life +70 years after death. This allows copyright owners to build a legacy based off of their copyright. What this means for you as an indie creator is that it gives weight and power to your creative works. Even after you die, you still can retain some control over how your copyright works are handled. You can leave your copyright to an estate to manage. You see this a lot with like the Tolkien Estate and Agatha Christie in publishing. In Hollywood, you’ve seen this done with Dolly Parton where she’s talked about how she’s working with attorneys to set standards for how her copyrighted works are handled after she dies because of how Prince, Aretha and Michael Jackson’s works we’re handled postmortem drew controversy.

So under copyright law, my books are covered as well as the scripts that I have written for Vicious Circle’s derivative works and I will retain those rights through the 21st-century and into the 22nd century, which is crazy to think about.

Additional protections can be created when you apply for trademarks which I’ll go over in future post because that’s its own set of processes.

For now, I hope this gives you a good overview of what copyright means and how it relates to what you do as an independent creative. If there are other questions you may have about copyright and trademarks, please let me know in the comments!

Until next time ,

Rochele Rosa