Copyright for text, content and words

What are the characteristics of copyright for text, content or words? This issue is quite relevant today, since Internet activities and freelancing are developing, and more and more copyright texts appear. In this article, you will learn all the details regarding this topic.

In order to have copyright for a text, you must adhere to some rules, namely:

1. The text should represent the result of a certain creative work. What does it mean? A collection of unrelated words does not grant you copyright. Only thoughtful expressed thoughts can be defined as text.
2. Artistic characteristics do not matter. That is, copyright arises regardless of the style of the text, errors, the order of the thoughts expressed, etc.
3. The length of the text doesn’t matter. Today there are no minimum word requirements for a work to be text. Of course, one letter or word written will not give you the rights to them.

Interestingly, rewriting, writing an abstract and other similar operations with information are also special results of creative work, and their authors own the copyright.

You should be aware that exact copying of an excerpt from the text, its name or the character that the author invented and described, cannot be used without prior discussion and consent. These objects are subject to copyright, and their use in their work is a violation. However, using a theme or idea that you find on one of the sites or blogs to write your own text is not prohibited.

Who is the copyright holder of the text?

In principle, everything is easy. Wrote the text – became the author. In this case, no additional procedures are required (registration with certain organizations, mentioning that you are the author, etc.). The copyright for the text arises automatically after its creation.

The author of the text is its creator and copyright holder. He cannot transfer this right to someone else without laying down an appropriate contract or even refuse it altogether. In the case of a contract, in which a non-true author is indicated, such a document is invalid and has no legal force.

There are situations when the authors, uploading their texts to any sources of information, indicate that this information can be copied only with the indication of the original source. In our country, this is not of great importance, since the right arises automatically. However, there are countries (for example, the USA) where without this mark it will be difficult for the author of the text to defend his rights.

Of course, in any case, in order not to violate the law and someone’s rights, it is best to always discuss the use of materials in advance and conclude an agreement.

What is an agreement with the author of the text?

An agreement with the author of the text is concluded in the event of a deal with a person that he will write you a certain text. This procedure will help you avoid conflicts with the authors of the texts. The contract between the customer and the copywriter has several options. So this:

1. Agreement on the alienation of exclusive rights. In this case, all rights of use to the text will be transferred to you. You will be able to publish, modify, translate and even stage a performance based on it. It will not be necessary to discuss each use in advance, since all this will be spelled out in the document. Also, you will not need to worry about claims from the author.
2. License agreement. If, however, you do not need full access to the text, you just need to publish it, then concluding the contract mentioned in the first paragraph does not matter. This option will suit you. The document indicates a list of rights that the customer may have with respect to the text. However, if you need to use the text for other purposes, you can always discuss this with its author. This license is divided into several types:

• simple (the copywriter has the right to conclude similar agreements with other customers);
• exclusive (by concluding a contract, these rights are transferred to the customer and cannot be transferred to another person).

1. Copyright contract. This document can be concluded in one of the above two forms. Its peculiarity is that it fits in advance, even before writing the text.

Text copyright infringement. How to proceed?

If there was such a situation that your text was used by hostile competitors, then you should know some points.

Naturally, this is a violation, and you have the right to defend your rights and demand certain actions from the offender. In addition, the purpose of use in most cases does not matter, since you are the creator of the text, and without your agreement, the use of materials is unacceptable.

In practice, such cases are not uncommon. What will you do in such a situation?

As we already mentioned, in order to use text that belongs to you, a person must contact you in advance and discuss the details of the contract, if you give permission to do so. You may be contacted if you are the author of the text, or if the creator sold you the exclusive copyright for some materials.

In the case of using content without agreement, there is such a thing as “plagiarism”. Then you can turn to the offender with a demand to delete all published records or to compensate for material damage. If there is no answer, you have the right to go to court for protection. The main thing here is to prove that you really are the author and have the copyright for this text.

What is the procedure for going to court? Follow this order:

1. Identify the violation (illegal use of your text).
2. File this violation. Most often they turn to a notary for this. There is a special examination of the source and comparison with the original text, and at the end a document is issued that has legal force.
3. Go to court to claim your copyright protection. As a result, you can demand the removal of all material from sources, compensation for moral or material damage, or even bring the offender to certain responsibility.

The freelance profession is gaining momentum. Today, work on the Internet is already popular, and many prefer it. But what do you need to know in this case? First of all, provide legal protection for your work. By working practices, we mean all the content that you yourself came up with and posted. It is possible that after a while one of your “colleagues” will present your work as their own.

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Was it helpful? Find out more. For example, about how the registration of IP objects in the customs register and the application of measures aimed at protecting IP rights is carried out.