Having your art on the Internet is crucial for your visibility and art sales but it can also lead to people stealing it for mischievous deeds. With the rise of AI, your artworks are more exposed than ever to being fed to an algorithm without your permission (for my take on the AI art debate, click here).
Although at the end of the day, if a big corporation decides to rip off your art there’s little you can do as litigating would be an expensive and lengthy process, copyrighting your art formally will make it more difficult for them to steal your creations, which might deter them from doing that in the first place.
So, how can you use copyright to protect your online works and make the most out of it?
How does copyright even work?
Any work of art you create, be it a tattoo design, drawing, moving image piece or sculpture, is copyrighted. This means you automatically own it as soon as you complete the work. your work is, therefore, somehow protected and you don’t need to register anything anywhere.
However, if someone has used your artwork without your permission or sold something with your artwork on and you want to strike back at court, you will need to prove that the piece in question is actually yours. You’ll need to provide the date of creation of the piece, if your work has been digitally made this can be quickly checked but in the case of physical works it’s really a grey area.
In this case, the best thing to do is to formally copyright your artwork and pay the copyright fee, which in the US costs around $35 and in the UK £46. After registering it, you’ll become the de facto author of your work.
Pros and cons of formally copyrighting your work In you’re entangle in a legal dispute over an artwork that has been used for profit without your consent, you’ll just have to show your copyright to the judge and you will get paid the profit that the company who stole your art made from you plus statutory damages, time out of work, legal fees, stress, etc.
You can also fight in the court without having a formal copyrighted work and still win the profits but not those damages.
Another advantage of having your works copyrighted is peace of mind, as you’ll at least be sure that you have everything on your side to win a legal battle should you decide to sue the person or company who rips off your artworks.
You can register your copyright after they have already used your design as there’s no time limit to register, but it’s easier if you registered before that occurs.
So, should you be copyrighting your art?
If you’re an illustrator and graphic designer who regularly do very commercial works and patterns I’d advise to get your creations copyrighted as soon as possible as many of my clients doing these types of works have been ripped off by small and big companies. If you’re a fine artist doing very unique things you might get away with not having your works registered but it really depends on the type of work you do.
תגובות