Intellectual property for web designers
As an entrepreneur in web design, protecting your creations, and your clients, is important. You should at least learn the very basics of the protections available and how they apply to your work. Keeping clients coming back for more could involve helping them keep their content, design, or logo safe and secure.
On the internet, it is hard to draw legal lines because they are still being defined. However, this does not make it a free-for-all. Extra precaution should be applied to all work and content online, as it is only a few keystrokes away from anyone in the world. Laws such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act have been passed as a start to figuring out the grey areas online. International copyright treaties and conventions also help to further protect your rights.
There are three main sections of protection offered by the government, and each covers something slightly different – copyrights, patents, and trademarks.
Copyrights
Copyrights protect “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and other intellectual works. Copyright protection is applied to your work the moment it is created in a tangible form. However, you can also register your work, especially if you wish to enforce your protection. A basic claim is only $45 - the procedure and application forms are available online here.
Copyrights last a long time - the span of the creator’s life as well as an additional 70 years. Most things a freelancer creates will fall under the protection of a copyright. However, depending on how the agreements and contracts are decided, you may no longer have the same rights to your creation. Be sure to investigate “work for hire agreements” and be clear who has what rights to avoid further complications.
Patents
To protect inventions, a patent should be filed. Patents are different from copyrights and trademarks in that there are several different kinds. Design patents and utility patents are the most common. A utility patent will protect “any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter”. While a design patent applies to a “new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture”. For those in hardware and software engineering, patents are especially important.
Patents last 20 years after your application was filed, giving “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the United States. Note that it does not give you the right to do any of these things.
To apply for a patent, you must first determine which kind applies to your work. The United States Patent and Trademark Office lists in detail how to get a patent here.
Trademarks
“A trademark or servicemark is any word, name, symbol or design, or any combination thereof, used to distinguish the goods or services rendered by one party from the goods or services rendered by another party.” Tradmarks are handy in domain name disputes, and also in determining company’s logo or name.
In Indiana, trademarks are only $10.00 each. The application can be found here. For more information on how to complete the application visit here.
Though this information is from Indiana, trademarks and servicemarks can also be registered at the federal level. A toll-free number is provided for questions: 1-800-786-9199.
Digital Rights Management (DRM)
In a nutshell, use of DRM restricts the use of digital copyrighted materials. DRM technologies can do a variety of things, including controlling the number of time a file is viewed, the amount of times it can be accessed, where it can be accessed, if it can be copied or printed, and more.
The use of DRM is controversial and heavily debated among many. It helps to maintain copyright protection, but at the same time prevents users from remaining anonymous. Most systems require a login check to ensure the user is allowed access. Other system specific debates have been in the media recently, including the game Spore.
DRM is supported by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act(DMCA), which became effective in 1998. The DMCA makes it illegal to go around DRM protection, whether or not you are breaking copyright by doing so. It also heightened penalties for copyright infringement on the internet.
Creative Commons
A relatively new form of licenses are the Creative Commons licenses. Creative Commons modifies the protection of a copyright. There are six main licenses under the Creative Commons, each ranging in spectrum from basically a full copyright to the public domain.
For freelance web developers, knowing about Creative Commons is important because it is becoming more prevalent on the web. Some prime examples include DeviantArt, Flickr, and even Nine Inch Nail’s album, The Slip. Alternatively, if creating resources for other designers to use, you can restrict access for certain uses by applying a Creative Commons license. To apply a Creative Commons license, all you need to do is select a license and apply the badge.
Further Reading
Peachpit: Web Design Reference Guide
Copyright Basics
General Information Concerning Patents
Indiana Secretary of State - Trademark Booklet
Digital Rights Management Privacy