Description
Nonprofit organizations create and use copyrighted materials every day. But they don’t always concern themselves with the process of protecting their rights in the works they create or in obtaining permission to use works created by others where required. Perhaps because there are so many unknowns:
- Do nonprofits really own what they think they own?
- Can nonprofits protect the materials they have created from the unauthorized use of those works by others? If so, how?
- Can nonprofits use works created by others without permission?
- Is their use of the works of others, or the use by others of the works of the nonprofit, a “fair use”?
- Can the author of the work, whether a nonprofit or someone else, recover damages for infringing use, or obtain an injunction to prevent the use altogether?
- What can be protected by copyright and how is it protected?
- What precautions should nonprofits take when creating protected materials?
- Do the same standards apply online and off?
- How does the doctrine of “fair use” apply in our everyday activities? Is that doctrine changing?
In this program, Joe Stapleton, Chair of the Corporate Law Group and Co-Chair of the Technology Law Group at Montgomery, McCracken, will answer all these questions and more. He’ll provide a basic review of copyright law in the U.S., a system as old as our Constitution, spelling out the copyright ground rules with some interesting and fun examples from the news. He’ll also provide practical tips along the way for protecting your work and reducing the risks of infringement claims by others.