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Episode 66

E66: Copyright Infringement Basics, Part 2: How to Avoid Accidentally Infringing Someone Else's Copyright

Part Two of the Copyright Infringement Series is here. Check it out! 🎧

In this episode, we explore practical strategies for making sure you don’t become an accidental infringer! Be confident that you are legally using third-party copyrighted material. Here are the key takeaways from this episode:

  1. Educate Yourself About Copyright Basics:  Make sure you understand what copyright is and what it protects. 
  2. Research Before Use:  Before using any content (text, images, music, video, etc.) that you did not create, research its copyright status. Just because something is available online doesn't mean it's free to use. 
  3. Seek Permission:  If you can't determine the copyright status or can't get permission, it's safest not to use the content. 
  4. Use Copyright-Free or Creative Commons Resources:  Materials in the public domain aren't protected by copyright and can be freely used by anyone. Creative Commons licenses provide a standardized way for creators to grant the public permission to share and use their creative work. 
  5. Keep Records:  Maintain a record of all permissions, licenses, and correspondence related to the content you use. Keep track of expiration dates or any other conditions to ensure you stay in compliance with the permission.  

The biggest takeaway is to be fair and do the right thing by respecting our fellow experts’ intellectual property.

Listen to the episode now for more insights and practical tips to navigate copyright effectively. Your feedback and suggestions for future episodes are always welcome! 🗣️💡

Connect with Erin to learn how to use intellectual property to increase your income and impact. hourlytoexit.com/podcast.

Erin's LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinaustin/

Think Beyond IP YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVztXnDYnZ83oIb-EGX9IGA/videos

Music credit: Yes She Can by Tiny Music

A Team Dklutr production

Transcript
Erin Austin:

Hello, ladies.

Erin Austin:

Welcome to this week's episode

Erin Austin:

of the hourly to exit podcast.

Erin Austin:

This week is part two of

Erin Austin:

a three part series about

Erin Austin:

copyright infringement basics.

Erin Austin:

This week, we're going to

Erin Austin:

talk about how to avoid

Erin Austin:

accidentally infringing

Erin Austin:

someone else's copyright.

Erin Austin:

Including the podcast, in

Erin Austin:

part one, which I encourage

Erin Austin:

you to listen to if you

Erin Austin:

have not already, we talked

Erin Austin:

about the consequences and

Erin Austin:

penalties that can be levied

Erin Austin:

against an infringer, and

Erin Austin:

they include money damages

Erin Austin:

as well as criminal charges

Erin Austin:

in the case of intentional

Erin Austin:

infringement or repeated

Erin Austin:

patterns of infringement.

Erin Austin:

Of course, no one

Erin Austin:

is listening to this

Erin Austin:

podcast wants to do that.

Erin Austin:

Not just because you don't

Erin Austin:

want to get caught, but

Erin Austin:

because we have an ethical

Erin Austin:

duty to respect each other's

Erin Austin:

property and intellectual

Erin Austin:

property is property.

Erin Austin:

When we think about IP as

Erin Austin:

inventory, which when you

Erin Austin:

are an expert, intellectual

Erin Austin:

property is your inventory.

Erin Austin:

There is no other business

Erin Austin:

that we would think that

Erin Austin:

we can get our inventory

Erin Austin:

for free, or that we can

Erin Austin:

borrow somebody else's

Erin Austin:

inventory and profit from

Erin Austin:

it without their permission.

Erin Austin:

That would never happen in

Erin Austin:

any other business and the

Erin Austin:

same rules apply when we are

Erin Austin:

experts and our inventory

Erin Austin:

is intellectual property.

Erin Austin:

whether it's that we

Erin Austin:

create ourselves or that

Erin Austin:

somebody else creates,

Erin Austin:

and that we bring into our

Erin Austin:

business to help create

Erin Austin:

additional inventory.

Erin Austin:

I do have an episode

Erin Austin:

about, IP is inventory.

Erin Austin:

throughout my episodes,

Erin Austin:

if I refer to something

Erin Austin:

that I wrote about or a

Erin Austin:

previous episode, you can

Erin Austin:

always go to my website,

Erin Austin:

think beyond dot com and,

Erin Austin:

search for it, usually, in

Erin Austin:

the blog under the blog.

Erin Austin:

There is a search function

Erin Austin:

now, for those of you who

Erin Austin:

know this stuff better than

Erin Austin:

me, I have been looking for

Erin Austin:

much better search tool.

Erin Austin:

because I have so much

Erin Austin:

content on my website,

Erin Austin:

including, podcast that I

Erin Austin:

host and then, a guest on and.

Erin Austin:

All the stuff I write,

Erin Austin:

a lot of free resources.

Erin Austin:

I'd love to have a really good

Erin Austin:

comprehensive search tool.

Erin Austin:

So if you have any leads,

Erin Austin:

please send them to me.

Erin Austin:

Thanks.

Erin Austin:

Anyway, back to copyright

Erin Austin:

infringement basics.

Erin Austin:

So, IP is inventory.

Erin Austin:

We don't get to use other

Erin Austin:

people's inventory for free

Erin Austin:

or without their permission.

Erin Austin:

And it happens too much when

Erin Austin:

it comes to intellectual

Erin Austin:

property, and our expertise,

Erin Austin:

because, we can't put in our

Erin Austin:

hand, you know, like bolts

Erin Austin:

or, planks and things like

Erin Austin:

that that we know we have to

Erin Austin:

buy in order to get the wood

Erin Austin:

to create a building or to

Erin Austin:

get the screws to make a car.

Erin Austin:

because we can

Erin Austin:

access people's.

Erin Austin:

Intellectual property, we

Erin Austin:

can access their expertise

Erin Austin:

over the Internet, and

Erin Austin:

we can get it for free.

Erin Austin:

You're listening

Erin Austin:

to this for free.

Erin Austin:

even though it is my

Erin Austin:

intellectual property,

Erin Austin:

you can get it for free.

Erin Austin:

But even though everyone else.

Erin Austin:

May say, oh, everyone's

Erin Austin:

getting their initial property

Erin Austin:

for free off the Internet,

Erin Austin:

but we aren't because here

Erin Austin:

at hourly to exit, we believe

Erin Austin:

in building businesses that

Erin Austin:

poor put more wealth in the

Erin Austin:

hands of women and we are

Erin Austin:

not stealing from each other.

Erin Austin:

So, let's start with the

Erin Austin:

assumption that we all

Erin Austin:

want to do the right thing.

Erin Austin:

That we want to be fair,

Erin Austin:

let's call it the golden

Erin Austin:

rule of copyright that to

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do on to others as we would

Erin Austin:

have them do on to you.

Erin Austin:

So that means it is our duty

Erin Austin:

to educate ourselves so that

Erin Austin:

we don't infringe copyrights

Erin Austin:

due to our ignorance.

Erin Austin:

Now, I'm going to make

Erin Austin:

the assumption that you

Erin Austin:

would never intentionally

Erin Austin:

infringe someone else's

Erin Austin:

copyright and that if it

Erin Austin:

happens, it's Because you

Erin Austin:

don't know any better.

Erin Austin:

So that is what this, episode

Erin Austin:

is about is making sure

Erin Austin:

that we don't accidentally

Erin Austin:

infringe on copyright because

Erin Austin:

we don't know any better.

Erin Austin:

And by the way, ignorance is

Erin Austin:

not a defense with respect

Erin Austin:

to copyright infringement.

Erin Austin:

So there will be, 5 steps to

Erin Austin:

avoid accidentally infringing

Erin Austin:

someone else's copyright.

Erin Austin:

1st, educate yourself

Erin Austin:

about what copyright is.

Erin Austin:

Number 2 is doing your

Erin Austin:

research before you use it.

Erin Austin:

Number 3 is seeking

Erin Austin:

permission before you use it.

Erin Austin:

4 is, take advantage of

Erin Austin:

resources that are in

Erin Austin:

the public domain or,

Erin Austin:

can be easily licensed.

Erin Austin:

And then 5 is keeping

Erin Austin:

records to make sure you

Erin Austin:

know the limits of the

Erin Austin:

permissions that you do have.

Erin Austin:

All right, from the top,

Erin Austin:

educate yourself about

Erin Austin:

the copyright basics.

Erin Austin:

You need to understand

Erin Austin:

what copyright is

Erin Austin:

and what it protects.

Erin Austin:

This will be a bit

Erin Austin:

of an overview.

Erin Austin:

You know, I talk about

Erin Austin:

copyrights a lot, but,

Erin Austin:

in the interest of

Erin Austin:

completeness, we'll also

Erin Austin:

just have a brief overview

Erin Austin:

of the copyright basics.

Erin Austin:

So, what does

Erin Austin:

copyright protect?

Erin Austin:

Copyright law protects

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original works of authorship

Erin Austin:

fixed in a tangible

Erin Austin:

medium of expression.

Erin Austin:

So that would include

Erin Austin:

livery works, both fiction

Erin Austin:

and nonfiction, music,

Erin Austin:

art, videos, television,

Erin Austin:

choreography, photographs,

Erin Austin:

sculpture, anything that is

Erin Austin:

original, and that has been

Erin Austin:

put in a tangible medium

Erin Austin:

of expression tangible does

Erin Austin:

mean digital, by the way.

Erin Austin:

So, something that's on

Erin Austin:

the Internet, even if you

Erin Austin:

can't pick it up and put in

Erin Austin:

your hand, it's been fixed

Erin Austin:

in a medium of expression.

Erin Austin:

Meaning other people

Erin Austin:

can perceive it without,

Erin Austin:

you being there.

Erin Austin:

So, if I, say this exact thing

Erin Austin:

that I'm, going to talk about

Erin Austin:

in this episode today, but I

Erin Austin:

say it on the front steps of

Erin Austin:

a, courthouse, on my box on

Erin Austin:

my soapbox and, I don't fix

Erin Austin:

it in any kind of tangible

Erin Austin:

expression, Be get without

Erin Austin:

recording it in any way.

Erin Austin:

It's not hasn't been fixed

Erin Austin:

and therefore it's not

Erin Austin:

protected by copyright law.

Erin Austin:

so exclusive rights that you

Erin Austin:

get when you have a copyright.

Erin Austin:

Copyrights are

Erin Austin:

basically a bundle.

Erin Austin:

You'll hear it in the

Erin Austin:

singular and in the plural

Erin Austin:

and it's the copyrights

Erin Austin:

are a bundle of rights that

Erin Austin:

the owner has exclusively.

Erin Austin:

Over the use of their work,

Erin Austin:

and those include the right

Erin Austin:

to copy the work, the right

Erin Austin:

to distribute the works to

Erin Austin:

the public, the right to

Erin Austin:

prepare derivative works

Erin Austin:

based on that, such as, you

Erin Austin:

translation or an abridgment

Erin Austin:

or turning it into a course

Erin Austin:

or creating a video out of it.

Erin Austin:

to publicly

Erin Austin:

perform their work.

Erin Austin:

and so that would be, if I

Erin Austin:

have this script and then I

Erin Austin:

go stand on my soapbox, I've

Erin Austin:

put it in fixed, form before

Erin Austin:

I started speaking and now

Erin Austin:

I publicly perform it, that

Erin Austin:

would be one of the rights

Erin Austin:

that I have exclusively

Erin Austin:

as a copyright owner of

Erin Austin:

this script, including

Erin Austin:

live performances and

Erin Austin:

streaming over the Internet.

Erin Austin:

To publicly display their

Erin Austin:

work, including display

Erin Austin:

of artwork in public

Erin Austin:

places and on websites.

Erin Austin:

So, even if I own piece

Erin Austin:

of artwork, I go to

Erin Austin:

art fair this weekend.

Erin Austin:

I buy the physical

Erin Austin:

piece of artwork.

Erin Austin:

I bring it home.

Erin Austin:

I own that physical piece

Erin Austin:

of artwork, but I can't.

Erin Austin:

Put it online or, show

Erin Austin:

it off in a museum

Erin Austin:

because the copyright

Erin Austin:

in that piece of artwork

Erin Austin:

stayed with that artist.

Erin Austin:

I only own that physical,

Erin Austin:

canvas with the paint on it,

Erin Austin:

but I don't own the copyright.

Erin Austin:

The ability to make copies

Erin Austin:

distribute copies to create

Erin Austin:

derivatives that still stays

Erin Austin:

with the copyright owner.

Erin Austin:

So copyright notice

Erin Austin:

is not required.

Erin Austin:

Copyright notices that see

Erin Austin:

in a circle that should

Erin Austin:

be accompanied by the year

Erin Austin:

that it was published and

Erin Austin:

the name of the author.

Erin Austin:

That is your

Erin Austin:

standard copyright.

Erin Austin:

Notice is not been

Erin Austin:

required since I think

Erin Austin:

in 1976, if I'm correct.

Erin Austin:

So, assuming that you're

Erin Austin:

looking at a work Is,

Erin Austin:

modern the 2nd, within the

Erin Austin:

last 50 years published

Erin Austin:

within the last 50 years,

Erin Austin:

the copyright notice is not

Erin Austin:

required copyright protections

Erin Austin:

at the moment of creation.

Erin Austin:

And so what that means is that

Erin Austin:

there is a massive amount of

Erin Austin:

original expression that's

Erin Austin:

posted online every day.

Erin Austin:

That is protected by

Erin Austin:

copyright, even if there's

Erin Austin:

no copyright notice on it,

Erin Austin:

even if the creator had no

Erin Austin:

thoughts about copyright

Erin Austin:

protection when she created

Erin Austin:

it and posted it, but under

Erin Austin:

law, copyright protection

Erin Austin:

attaches automatically.

Erin Austin:

and just to clarify

Erin Austin:

that not every use of a

Erin Austin:

copyrighted work without

Erin Austin:

the owner's permission would

Erin Austin:

infringe the copyright.

Erin Austin:

So it has to infringe on one

Erin Austin:

of those exclusive rights.

Erin Austin:

Making copies, distributing

Erin Austin:

it, making derivatives,

Erin Austin:

publicly performing,

Erin Austin:

publicly displaying it.

Erin Austin:

So, if you're not doing

Erin Austin:

any of those things with

Erin Austin:

somebody's copyrighted

Erin Austin:

work, then you're not

Erin Austin:

infringing their copyright.

Erin Austin:

So, for instance, if You're

Erin Austin:

in your car singing a song,

Erin Austin:

that is a copyrighted work and

Erin Austin:

you are performing it, but you

Erin Austin:

aren't publicly performing it.

Erin Austin:

So that would not be a

Erin Austin:

copyright infringement.

Erin Austin:

there are some shades

Erin Austin:

of gray in there.

Erin Austin:

Of course, when I was

Erin Austin:

originally thinking about that

Erin Austin:

example, I was thinking, let's

Erin Austin:

say you just did it, at the

Erin Austin:

barbecue, you have a little,

Erin Austin:

Talent show at the barbecue.

Erin Austin:

there's that fine line

Erin Austin:

between is that public?

Erin Austin:

And even if it is public,

Erin Austin:

who's ever going to find out?

Erin Austin:

And so, I'll always

Erin Austin:

be very practical.

Erin Austin:

And the way I talk about

Erin Austin:

copyrights and contracts, but

Erin Austin:

I do want you to understand.

Erin Austin:

What the strict letter

Erin Austin:

of the law says.

Erin Austin:

finally, we have the

Erin Austin:

concept of fair use.

Erin Austin:

that is the circumstance

Erin Austin:

where you can have limited

Erin Austin:

use of somebody else's

Erin Austin:

copyrighted material without

Erin Austin:

their permission and without

Erin Austin:

it being an infringement.

Erin Austin:

And, that the purposes

Erin Austin:

include, criticism

Erin Austin:

or commentary, news,

Erin Austin:

reporting, education,

Erin Austin:

scholarship and research.

Erin Austin:

since you know, the

Erin Austin:

audience here, we're in

Erin Austin:

the business of profiting

Erin Austin:

from our expertise when

Erin Austin:

we're using other people's

Erin Austin:

intellectual property,

Erin Austin:

we're typically using it.

Erin Austin:

In the course of selling our

Erin Austin:

services or selling, a product

Erin Austin:

that we created with our

Erin Austin:

expertise, we would not fall

Erin Austin:

generally would not fall in

Erin Austin:

the area of fair use unless,

Erin Austin:

the amount we were using was,

Erin Austin:

de minimis, yes, fair use

Erin Austin:

exists, but it is a defense.

Erin Austin:

It is not a right.

Erin Austin:

It is a defense.

Erin Austin:

To using somebody else's

Erin Austin:

copyrighted material

Erin Austin:

without their permission.

Erin Austin:

So, the only way to arrive

Erin Austin:

at a fair use determination

Erin Austin:

is through a court of law

Erin Austin:

saying, yeah, you're right.

Erin Austin:

You used it, but we decided

Erin Austin:

it wasn't so much that,

Erin Austin:

it infringed their rights.

Erin Austin:

And so that is fairly risky.

Erin Austin:

I discourage people

Erin Austin:

from relying on fair use

Erin Austin:

other than instances of

Erin Austin:

truly demented miss, use.

Erin Austin:

And if you have questions

Erin Austin:

about that, of course,

Erin Austin:

I've written about it, or

Erin Austin:

you can always talk to me.

Erin Austin:

Number two, research before

Erin Austin:

use, before using any

Erin Austin:

content, whether it's text

Erin Austin:

or images or music or video

Erin Austin:

research, it's copyright

Erin Austin:

status again, just because

Erin Austin:

it's online, just because

Erin Austin:

you can ask that access it

Erin Austin:

for free doesn't mean that

Erin Austin:

you can use it, use that

Erin Austin:

bundle of rights of copying,

Erin Austin:

making derivatives publicly

Erin Austin:

displaying doesn't mean you

Erin Austin:

can do those things just

Erin Austin:

because it's on the internet.

Erin Austin:

And once again, the lack of

Erin Austin:

a copyright notice does not

Erin Austin:

mean that something isn't

Erin Austin:

protected by copyright.

Erin Austin:

So when you're doing your

Erin Austin:

research, use reputable

Erin Austin:

sources in the US, you can

Erin Austin:

search the US Copyright

Erin Austin:

Office, just Google that they

Erin Austin:

have an online catalog, where

Erin Austin:

you can check the copyright

Erin Austin:

status of a particular work,

Erin Austin:

you can search it by title,

Erin Austin:

certainly if it's a The

Erin Austin:

name of a book or research

Erin Austin:

paper, by the author or by

Erin Austin:

a distributor or a website

Erin Austin:

owner, I consider distributor

Erin Austin:

publisher website owners

Erin Austin:

are considered publishers.

Erin Austin:

and just note that the person

Erin Austin:

who wrote it, may not be

Erin Austin:

the same person who owns it.

Erin Austin:

So, for instance, if somebody

Erin Austin:

created something in the

Erin Austin:

course of their employment,

Erin Austin:

their employer would own it,

Erin Austin:

not the person who wrote it.

Erin Austin:

might need to do a little

Erin Austin:

bit of research to actually

Erin Austin:

find out who the owner of

Erin Austin:

the copyrights are versus

Erin Austin:

who the writer of it was, or

Erin Austin:

who the creator of it was.

Erin Austin:

Uh, can also sometimes find.

Erin Austin:

Licensing and use information

Erin Austin:

right there with the content.

Erin Austin:

if you find it on a website or

Erin Austin:

some sort of online platform,

Erin Austin:

almost every website and

Erin Austin:

platform these days as a terms

Erin Austin:

of use or usage, rights usage

Erin Austin:

section that will describe

Erin Austin:

how their content can be used.

Erin Austin:

some websites, you certainly

Erin Austin:

those that host creative

Erin Austin:

content, we'll have

Erin Austin:

copyright notices, like

Erin Austin:

some that are aggregators,

Erin Austin:

specialty, websites that

Erin Austin:

are, lots of articles

Erin Austin:

about healthcare issues.

Erin Austin:

Lots of articles about,

Erin Austin:

content marketing or

Erin Austin:

something, and there'll be

Erin Austin:

different authors and they

Erin Austin:

might have the, copyright

Erin Austin:

notices right there with each.

Erin Austin:

piece of content and then

Erin Austin:

some may also use creative

Erin Austin:

commons licenses and we will

Erin Austin:

talk about that in a minute.

Erin Austin:

And then you can also

Erin Austin:

use reverse image

Erin Austin:

or content search.

Erin Austin:

So, let's say it's an image.

Erin Austin:

You're wondering who owns

Erin Austin:

it Google has a reverse

Erin Austin:

image function like 10.

Erin Austin:

I as well that you can search.

Erin Austin:

And they may be able

Erin Austin:

to find the original

Erin Austin:

source of the image.

Erin Austin:

for text based content, you

Erin Austin:

can copy the text and put

Erin Austin:

it in Google, and it may be

Erin Austin:

able to find the exact match

Erin Austin:

for that content as well.

Erin Austin:

And therefore, information

Erin Austin:

about its copyright status.

Erin Austin:

Number three, seek permission,

Erin Austin:

which is also called a license

Erin Austin:

permission to use intellectual

Erin Austin:

property is a license.

Erin Austin:

So if the content is

Erin Austin:

copyrighted and you want

Erin Austin:

to use it, reach out to

Erin Austin:

the copyright holder for

Erin Austin:

permission to get a license.

Erin Austin:

So any license that you get.

Erin Austin:

should be in writing, and

Erin Austin:

it should clearly define how

Erin Austin:

you can use the material.

Erin Austin:

It will say what the scope

Erin Austin:

of use is, the duration

Erin Austin:

of the use, for how long

Erin Austin:

the license, lasts, any

Erin Austin:

compensation, paying a license

Erin Austin:

fee, whether it's per use or

Erin Austin:

per year, or per sale, and

Erin Austin:

any attribution required.

Erin Austin:

And then while verbal

Erin Austin:

permission is valid,

Erin Austin:

you can absolutely get

Erin Austin:

a verbal oral license to

Erin Austin:

use intellectual property.

Erin Austin:

Now, the issue with that

Erin Austin:

is what if there's a

Erin Austin:

misunderstanding and therefore

Erin Austin:

an unintentional breach.

Erin Austin:

When you have something

Erin Austin:

in writing, everybody's

Erin Austin:

on the same page.

Erin Austin:

We clearly understand

Erin Austin:

what the Parameters of our

Erin Austin:

license, are and therefore

Erin Austin:

we do not unintentionally

Erin Austin:

infringe that copyright.

Erin Austin:

So if you cannot determine

Erin Austin:

the copyright status, or

Erin Austin:

if you have determined

Erin Austin:

that it is copyrighted,

Erin Austin:

but you can't figure out

Erin Austin:

how to get permission.

Erin Austin:

Don't use it.

Erin Austin:

That's the safest thing

Erin Austin:

is to not use the content

Erin Austin:

because there are so many

Erin Austin:

platforms and websites where

Erin Austin:

you can find, content that

Erin Austin:

is either, free to use, or

Erin Austin:

it's really simple to clear

Erin Austin:

and get a license for it.

Erin Austin:

So that would be the fourth

Erin Austin:

level using copyright free

Erin Austin:

or licensed resources.

Erin Austin:

we're here, we'll talk

Erin Austin:

about public domain works

Erin Austin:

and creative common works.

Erin Austin:

So 1st, public domain.

Erin Austin:

So materials are in

Erin Austin:

the public domain.

Erin Austin:

They aren't protected

Erin Austin:

by copyright, and so

Erin Austin:

they can be freely used.

Erin Austin:

By anyone.

Erin Austin:

When we say something's in

Erin Austin:

the public domain, we mean

Erin Austin:

that it is free for others

Erin Austin:

to use without obtaining

Erin Austin:

permission from the owner.

Erin Austin:

And in other words, it is no

Erin Austin:

longer protected by copyright.

Erin Austin:

Some creators will explicitly

Erin Austin:

release their work to the

Erin Austin:

public domain, and so let's

Erin Austin:

talk about ways to identify

Erin Austin:

public domain materials first.

Erin Austin:

All items produced by

Erin Austin:

the federal government

Erin Austin:

are in the public domain.

Erin Austin:

Note, this is only the federal

Erin Austin:

government that does not apply

Erin Austin:

to state or local governments.

Erin Austin:

Also, in the U.

Erin Austin:

S.

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all materials published

Erin Austin:

before 1928 are in the

Erin Austin:

public domain as of the year.

Erin Austin:

I'm recording this 2023 and

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each January 1, Everything

Erin Austin:

released 95 years earlier

Erin Austin:

and to the public domain.

Erin Austin:

So every year on January

Erin Austin:

1st, a new crop of materials

Erin Austin:

enters the public domain.

Erin Austin:

I'm sure you've heard

Erin Austin:

a lot about, Disney

Erin Austin:

materials that have

Erin Austin:

entered the public domain.

Erin Austin:

because, Disney goes back to

Erin Austin:

the 1920s sometime, however,

Erin Austin:

Disney does have trademarks

Erin Austin:

on, their characters.

Erin Austin:

So it doesn't mean

Erin Austin:

you can use them.

Erin Austin:

but, the copyrighted materials

Erin Austin:

do enter the public domain.

Erin Austin:

if you.

Erin Austin:

Want to use a copy of an

Erin Austin:

entire book, you want to

Erin Austin:

just take the whole thing

Erin Austin:

was published in 1921.

Erin Austin:

You can just take it.

Erin Austin:

It is in public domain.

Erin Austin:

You can use it.

Erin Austin:

Now.

Erin Austin:

That doesn't mean you can

Erin Austin:

say it's yours and put

Erin Austin:

your name on it and put

Erin Austin:

your copyright notice on

Erin Austin:

there saying it's yours

Erin Austin:

and register for copyright.

Erin Austin:

You can't.

Erin Austin:

It's still.

Erin Austin:

Owned by the original

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copyright owner.

Erin Austin:

It just means that you

Erin Austin:

don't need their permission

Erin Austin:

to use it that way.

Erin Austin:

And 1, easy way to find out

Erin Austin:

if something is in the public

Erin Austin:

domain, especially for books.

Erin Austin:

Is to check there's a

Erin Austin:

database called HathiTrust.

Erin Austin:

That's H A T H I T R U S T.

Erin Austin:

HathiTrust.

Erin Austin:

And it is a non profit that

Erin Austin:

researches the copyright

Erin Austin:

status of, a lot of works.

Erin Austin:

And they use an expert

Erin Austin:

to find out whether or

Erin Austin:

not it is in the public

Erin Austin:

domain, either in the U.

Erin Austin:

S.

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and around the world.

Erin Austin:

And if the entire.

Erin Austin:

Item is publicly accessible

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on their database, then

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it is free to download

Erin Austin:

and print and use it is

Erin Austin:

in the public domain.

Erin Austin:

So that's just 1.

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I imagine there are others.

Erin Austin:

I just came across

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this while researching

Erin Austin:

this topic of sources

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public domain materials.

Erin Austin:

There are definitely others.

Erin Austin:

I know there is an

Erin Austin:

audio book site.

Erin Austin:

But I can't remember the

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name of Libra, something

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like free library, that

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has, free recordings of

Erin Austin:

books in the public domain.

Erin Austin:

and during the period that a

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copyright notice was required,

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and I believe that would

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be, those things published

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before 1976, no copyright

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notice, then those did fall

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into the public domain.

Erin Austin:

but any case, we do want to

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make sure we're doing our

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research before we assume

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anything is in the public.

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Next.

Erin Austin:

Creative Commons.

Erin Austin:

So some authors will choose

Erin Austin:

to license their work under

Erin Austin:

Creative Commons licenses.

Erin Austin:

These provide a standardized

Erin Austin:

way for creators to grant the

Erin Austin:

public permission to share

Erin Austin:

and use their work on the

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conditions that they choose.

Erin Austin:

And so you will see these

Erin Austin:

are letters, That usually

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have a little bit of

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graphic that goes with it.

Erin Austin:

I have written

Erin Austin:

about this as well.

Erin Austin:

And you can see some examples

Erin Austin:

of a creative common licenses

Erin Austin:

look like, among my blog

Erin Austin:

posts, there are 6 main types

Erin Austin:

of creative common licenses.

Erin Austin:

And basically, when

Erin Austin:

when it says that

Erin Austin:

they're standardized,

Erin Austin:

Something is copyrighted.

Erin Austin:

You want to use it.

Erin Austin:

if it's not under creative

Erin Austin:

common license, you got

Erin Austin:

to go find the copyright

Erin Austin:

owner and ask for a license,

Erin Austin:

negotiate the license.

Erin Austin:

Hopefully you're getting it in

Erin Austin:

writing and having it signed

Erin Austin:

when it's something that's

Erin Austin:

a creative common license,

Erin Austin:

then you can just rely on

Erin Austin:

that creative common license

Erin Austin:

that is literally attached

Erin Austin:

right there on the work.

Erin Austin:

And you don't have to

Erin Austin:

do anything more other

Erin Austin:

than comply with the.

Erin Austin:

Thank you.

Erin Austin:

Conditions that go with

Erin Austin:

the specific creative

Erin Austin:

commons license that

Erin Austin:

is part of that work.

Erin Austin:

So the six main types, there

Erin Austin:

is the creative commons

Erin Austin:

license by attribution.

Erin Austin:

So this allows you to

Erin Austin:

do all the things to

Erin Austin:

distribute it, to adapt

Erin Austin:

it, to create new works.

Erin Austin:

Even to use it commercially,

Erin Austin:

but the condition is that you

Erin Austin:

provide appropriate credit

Erin Austin:

and a link to the license

Erin Austin:

and then to indicate if any

Erin Austin:

changes were made and what

Erin Austin:

you can do in a reasonable

Erin Austin:

manner, but you cannot suggest

Erin Austin:

that the license or endorses

Erin Austin:

you or what you've done.

Erin Austin:

So that's creative commons

Erin Austin:

license by attribution.

Erin Austin:

Now there's creative commons

Erin Austin:

license by attribution.

Erin Austin:

Share alike, so similar

Erin Austin:

to attribution, you can

Erin Austin:

distribute it, adapt it, build

Erin Austin:

upon it, use commercially,

Erin Austin:

provided that you give

Erin Austin:

an appropriate credit and

Erin Austin:

you must license any new

Erin Austin:

creations based upon the

Erin Austin:

work under the same terms.

Erin Austin:

So, if you do build upon

Erin Austin:

their work, let's say you

Erin Austin:

use it and you use it.

Erin Austin:

In your course, then you

Erin Austin:

can only, distribute your

Erin Austin:

course using a creative

Erin Austin:

common attribution

Erin Austin:

share like license.

Erin Austin:

So that would be

Erin Austin:

the limitation.

Erin Austin:

They're creative common

Erin Austin:

license by attribution.

Erin Austin:

No derivatives.

Erin Austin:

So you can use the

Erin Austin:

work for any purpose

Erin Austin:

including commercially.

Erin Austin:

however, you cannot share,

Erin Austin:

adapted material can't

Erin Austin:

create derivatives from it.

Erin Austin:

So here you need to

Erin Austin:

give appropriate credit

Erin Austin:

and you cannot modify

Erin Austin:

the work in any way.

Erin Austin:

Creative Commons licensed by

Erin Austin:

attribution non commercial.

Erin Austin:

You can distribute

Erin Austin:

adapt, build upon it.

Erin Austin:

You must give appropriate

Erin Austin:

credit, but you cannot use

Erin Austin:

it for commercial purposes.

Erin Austin:

and that would include,

Erin Austin:

marketing, if you're

Erin Austin:

using your marketing for

Erin Austin:

selling a for profit, item.

Erin Austin:

So you could use it for, just

Erin Austin:

purely educational purposes.

Erin Austin:

but not for

Erin Austin:

commercial purposes.

Erin Austin:

creative commons license,

Erin Austin:

non commercial share alike.

Erin Austin:

and so, you can, distribute

Erin Austin:

adapt, build upon it.

Erin Austin:

You have to give credit, you

Erin Austin:

can't use it for commercial

Erin Austin:

purposes, and you have to

Erin Austin:

license your new creation

Erin Austin:

based on the same terms.

Erin Austin:

And then you have creative

Erin Austin:

commons license by

Erin Austin:

attribution, non commercial,

Erin Austin:

no derivatives, you can't

Erin Austin:

create derivatives, but

Erin Austin:

you can download it and

Erin Austin:

share it as long as you

Erin Austin:

credit the original creator

Erin Austin:

and you can't use it.

Erin Austin:

Commercially in any way,

Erin Austin:

and then there's a thing

Erin Austin:

called creative common zero.

Erin Austin:

So, in that case, the

Erin Austin:

creator has waived all

Erin Austin:

of their copyright and

Erin Austin:

related and the work.

Erin Austin:

They're just throwing

Erin Austin:

it out into the universe

Erin Austin:

to use it as you will.

Erin Austin:

It's in the public domain.

Erin Austin:

You can use it by anyone

Erin Austin:

for any purpose without.

Erin Austin:

Conditions.

Erin Austin:

All right.

Erin Austin:

In addition to public domain

Erin Austin:

and creative commons, there

Erin Austin:

are a number of platforms

Erin Austin:

like shutterstock, getting

Erin Austin:

images where you can get

Erin Austin:

content that they have,

Erin Austin:

very simple to license.

Erin Austin:

They have a whole menu

Erin Austin:

of ways that you can

Erin Austin:

license something.

Erin Austin:

You can license it on

Erin Austin:

a royalty free basis.

Erin Austin:

Maybe you pay.

Erin Austin:

a 1 time fee, and then,

Erin Austin:

you know, pay anything

Erin Austin:

else based on the use.

Erin Austin:

and there are a number

Erin Austin:

of, ways that you can

Erin Austin:

license images that way.

Erin Austin:

I do know that there are

Erin Austin:

periodicals that are similar,

Erin Austin:

where they have, articles

Erin Austin:

that you can license.

Erin Austin:

They have a whole

Erin Austin:

licensing process.

Erin Austin:

So it's not something

Erin Austin:

you have to.

Erin Austin:

Kind of negotiate on a,

Erin Austin:

1 on 1 basis, they have

Erin Austin:

a process for licensing

Erin Austin:

and using their articles.

Erin Austin:

and so that makes it

Erin Austin:

very simple as well.

Erin Austin:

Make sure that you're going

Erin Austin:

to reliable sources though.

Erin Austin:

So, if you're on a

Erin Austin:

website that says it's

Erin Austin:

free and that there's no.

Erin Austin:

Licensing terms on there,

Erin Austin:

and by the way, that would

Erin Austin:

include generative a I, a lot

Erin Austin:

of times, then you need to

Erin Austin:

be really careful because you

Erin Austin:

really don't know whether or

Erin Austin:

not you're getting the rights

Erin Austin:

to use the material in the way

Erin Austin:

that you intend to, and make

Erin Austin:

sure you always understand

Erin Austin:

the limits of a license.

Erin Austin:

again, those licenses

Erin Austin:

will have a duration, they

Erin Austin:

may have the, commercial

Erin Austin:

versus non commercial use.

Erin Austin:

They may have

Erin Austin:

geographic restrictions.

Erin Austin:

so make sure you

Erin Austin:

understand that.

Erin Austin:

So you don't.

Erin Austin:

infringe the license well, I

Erin Austin:

should put it this way when

Erin Austin:

you are using that licensed

Erin Austin:

material in a way that is not.

Erin Austin:

Authorized in the

Erin Austin:

license, that is a

Erin Austin:

copyright infringement.

Erin Austin:

So we need to stay within

Erin Austin:

the bounds of the license in

Erin Austin:

order to not be an infringer.

Erin Austin:

and of course, give

Erin Austin:

appropriate credit,

Erin Austin:

when required.

Erin Austin:

All right.

Erin Austin:

So the last strategy.

Erin Austin:

Keep records and

Erin Austin:

stay up to date.

Erin Austin:

It's important to maintain

Erin Austin:

a record of all the

Erin Austin:

permissions, licenses,

Erin Austin:

correspondence, because you

Erin Austin:

may not have something signed.

Erin Austin:

You may have just done

Erin Austin:

something by email about the

Erin Austin:

content you use anytime you

Erin Austin:

are incorporating materials.

Erin Austin:

in the work that you're

Erin Austin:

delivering to your clients,

Erin Austin:

or that you're creating to

Erin Austin:

several or 1 to many products

Erin Austin:

or services from and it's not

Erin Austin:

something that you created.

Erin Austin:

It's not your original work.

Erin Austin:

You want to make sure you

Erin Austin:

are maintaining a record

Erin Austin:

of all those permissions.

Erin Austin:

licenses, correspondence,

Erin Austin:

so that you understand the

Erin Austin:

parameters of your permission.

Erin Austin:

You need to keep track of

Erin Austin:

expiration dates or any

Erin Austin:

other conditions to make

Erin Austin:

sure you stay in compliance

Erin Austin:

with those licenses.

Erin Austin:

establish a system for

Erin Austin:

archiving them and making

Erin Austin:

sure that you have evidence

Erin Austin:

in the event that there is

Erin Austin:

a, you know, someone says,

Erin Austin:

Hey, you I see that you're

Erin Austin:

doing this, did you get the

Erin Austin:

license to this, make sure

Erin Austin:

you have evidence of that.

Erin Austin:

so you can defend

Erin Austin:

yourself as well.

Erin Austin:

keep records and then

Erin Austin:

periodically, get a refresher

Erin Austin:

regarding copyright law.

Erin Austin:

You No one's trying to make

Erin Austin:

you a lawyer, but you do need

Erin Austin:

to kind of have an overall

Erin Austin:

awareness of copyright laws

Erin Austin:

just the same way that you

Erin Austin:

have an overall awareness

Erin Austin:

about, financial statements

Erin Austin:

and things like that.

Erin Austin:

we just need to be.

Erin Austin:

Mindful so that we don't

Erin Austin:

accidentally trip up, and this

Erin Austin:

will be especially important

Erin Austin:

as the law continues to evolve

Erin Austin:

and the boundaries tested with

Erin Austin:

respect to generative a I and

Erin Austin:

then if you aren't in the U.

Erin Austin:

S.

Erin Austin:

be aware of regional

Erin Austin:

differences.

Erin Austin:

I only ever talk about U.

Erin Austin:

S.

Erin Austin:

laws.

Erin Austin:

and there are different

Erin Austin:

laws in different

Erin Austin:

parts of the world.

Erin Austin:

And so if you're not in the U.

Erin Austin:

S.

Erin Austin:

make sure you are aware

Erin Austin:

of those differences.

Erin Austin:

Last but not least, when in

Erin Austin:

doubt, seek legal counsel.

Erin Austin:

Anytime you're unsure about

Erin Austin:

the copyright status of a

Erin Austin:

particular work or whether

Erin Austin:

or not you can use it, how

Erin Austin:

to use it properly, a license

Erin Austin:

that you received, maybe

Erin Austin:

you don't even understand

Erin Austin:

the license, if it was some

Erin Austin:

sort of, online license and

Erin Austin:

you're not completely sure,

Erin Austin:

consult with a copyright

Erin Austin:

attorney, including Yours

Erin Austin:

truly, so if you follow

Erin Austin:

these steps, maintain a

Erin Austin:

proactive attitude toward

Erin Austin:

copyrights, you can minimize

Erin Austin:

the risk of unintentional

Erin Austin:

infringement and avoid any

Erin Austin:

potential legal or ethical

Erin Austin:

complications or reputational.

Erin Austin:

Complications, so

Erin Austin:

that's it for this week.

Erin Austin:

Join me again next week,

Erin Austin:

where I will talk about how

Erin Austin:

to protect your material

Erin Austin:

from being the victim of

Erin Austin:

copyright infringement as

Erin Austin:

always find me at Aaron.

Erin Austin:

I think beyond IP with

Erin Austin:

any of your questions.

Erin Austin:

And if there's any time that

Erin Austin:

there's something you have

Erin Austin:

questions about something

Erin Austin:

that I've covered, do not

Erin Austin:

hesitate to let me know.

Erin Austin:

I'm always happy to follow up.

Erin Austin:

Thanks guys.

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Erin Austin

Meet Erin Austin, a Harvard Law alum with over 25 years of copyright and contracts experience. As the go-to advisor for professionals with corporate clients, Erin empowers entrepreneurs to be their own advocates, standing out for her commitment to transforming expertise into empires through the creation, protection and leveraging of intellectual property assets. Explore her blend of legal expertise and entrepreneurial insight on ThinkBeyondIP.com and the "Hourly to Exit" podcast. Off the clock, you'll find Erin in the great outdoors or connecting with business coaches to elevate 6-figure consultants into 7-figure powerhouses.