Today’s work…

Today, instead of compiling information,  I worked on my design. The ideas are really rough, but here is the first stages of my website design. I have to remember my audience is going to be college – level students. Primarily medical illustrators (although the law is the same for all illustrators) My challenge right now is incorporating boring text with visuals. I want to make it fun, but not too fun… not to childish, but not too “cold” or “officy.” So far I think the designs are a bit childish, but I think it’s a good start. It took me about 4 hours just to create these two designs. Phew… I have a long way to go.

Types of Work – the Category of Sound and the Category of Preforming Arts

Medical Artist are often involved in the world of animation as well. As animators, they are almost certain to run into legal rights to their Sound Recordings as well… which is why I am going over this too. ℗ The ℗ symbol, a circled P, is the copyright symbol used to provide notice of copyright in a sound recording (phonogram).

Spoken Text /

The category of Sound Recordings contains a series of spoken, musical, or other types of sound. Musical efforts that go along with a movie or other type of audiovisual work are excluded from this category! If they are excluded from this category chances are they fall under the Performing Arts category. A few examples of what falls into the Sound Recordings category are…. a professors lecture or a music album. These recordings are based strictly focused on the recordation of sound, rather than sound taken from a videotape.  All CD’s are sound recordings, (unless they are taken from a movie or soundtrack) and should all have a copyright notice ©. Your copyright in sound recording will cover both performance and the manner in which the performance was produced.

In other words some sounds can be covered by Sound Recordings category… some can be covered by the Performance Arts category, some are covered by both.

I am making a sound recoding and need back up music for my script? What can I use?

What are my rights as far as recording a Professor’s lecture? Who owns the rights? Is it fair use?

Types of Work – the category of Visual Art Work

It is important to categorize your work into a specific type of work. Categories include;

Literary work / Visual Arts / Performing Arts / Sounds Recordings / Serials and Periodicals

In the case of a medical illustrator, generally, there work would fall into the category of a visual art, and often even sound recordings (for animators). It is important to categorize your work to ensure proper copyright protection.

Work which falls into the Visual Arts category include;

Paintings / sculpture / drawings / photos / murals / games / greeting cards / posters / jewelry design / toys and dolls / artificial flowers and plants / art on clothes / advertisements / labels / stickers / needlework / fabric / architectural drawings

Some visual art works are considered useful articles. This means they have a function which extends beyond what can be covered by a copyright. For example… a medical illustrator creates an interactive learning project…. you can copyright the the design of the project, but you can not copyright the useful “interaction” of the piece. You can not copyright the useful actions… in other words, you can not stop others from making interactive pieces.  Likewise, an artist creates a t-shirt you can wear. You can copyright the design on the t-shirt but you can not copyright the useful portion which would be you can’t stop others from making or wearing other t-shirts.

Copyrights vs. Patents and Trademarks

Patents, trademarks, and copyrights are all forms of intellectual property. Each is a legal protection for creativity and creation, BUT THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!

1. Patents- A patent is protection for ideas, inventions, processes, and methods. (EX….. a medical illustration of a new-innovative surgical robot can be protected by a copyright, but the new-innovative surgical robot itself can be protected with a patent)  A patent is not a right to practice or use an invention. Rather, a patent provides the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention for the term of the patent, which is usually 20 years from the filing date & subject to maintenance fees. A patent is, in effect, a limited property right that the government offers to inventors in exchange for their agreement to share the details of their inventions with the public. Like any other property right, it may be sold, licensed, mortgaged, assigned or transferred, given away, or simply abandoned.

With a copyright, you are protected the moment you put your idea on paper. With a patent, you must apply throught the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.

Patent owners prevent others from doing things with their idea. Specifically, patent owners can prevent others from doing things like making, using, sellling, or offering to sell, or importing products or services that are covered by the patent.

Some examples of things that CAN be patented……

A. a process- method or making or doing something

B. a machine

C. You can patent an article of manufacture,-  a broad category of things which basically includes any device or composition which is made (for example, a tire or a pencil).

D. Although you cannot patent naturally occurring things, you can patent man-made things. For example, while you could not patent the leaves of different plants, you could patent a pharmaceutical made out of those leaves (as well as the process of making it).

E. Although you generally cannot patent living things, you can patent certain live matter, such as genetically engineered animals, plants, etc., or the process of extracting a natural product

F. You can patent a business method (technically, this is a type of process), which is a method of doing a specific type of business

G. You can patent computer software, including the programming method used to create that program

Some examples of things that CAN NOT be patented……

A. You cannot patent naturally occurring things, although you can patent man-made things. So while you could not patent the leaves of different plants, you could patent a pharmaceutical made out of those leaves (as well as the process of making it).

B. Generally you cannot patent living things, although you can patent certain live matter, such as genetically engineered animals, plants, etc., or the process of extracting a natural product.

C. You cannot patent laws of nature, mathematical formulas and abstract ideas. Thus, Isaac Newton could not have received a patent for discovery the connection between force and mass (one of those equations you learned in basic physics, F = ma). However, you might be able to patent an application of a mathematical formula or a law of nature, if it otherwise meets the patent requirements.

D. Finally, you cannot patent a simple idea or suggestion. Rather, the invention must be something real and concrete. So while you can patent a complex machine, you can not obtain a patent simply for the idea of some machine.

2. Trademarks- Trademarks protect those words and symbols called, “marks” that help consumers identify a product. These marks typically act as a “brand” for the product as being refered to. In other words, a trademark is any word, name, symbol, color or sound that is adopted and used by a company to identify its goods and distinguish them from those manufactured or sold by others. (Service mark is the same as a trademark but identifies a service and not a product.)

For example… the product Coke identifies a product used by the company Coca Cola. Trademarks are also associated with a defined set of products or services. Ex.. a mark that covers the distribution of sinks may also cover an airline servie (for example, Delta). Trademarks are distinctive signs or indicators used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.

Other Examples of Trademarks

a. Examples of trademarks – Nike, Just Do It, Nike Swoosh design
b. Can be a color – Brown for UPS, Orange label for Veuve Clicquot champagne, Pink for Owens Corning insulation materials
c. Can be a sound – MGM’s lion roar, NBC chimes

Trademark protection allows the trademark owner to prohibit others from using a mark that is confusingly similar. If a person or company is using a mark that is too similar to a registered trademark, that mark may be found to be infringing the registered mark. Ex… a red soda can that says Coco Coola might be found to be confusingly similar and infringing on the Coca Cola trademark.

Example..

Original Image

Infringed Image

A trademark is designated by the following symbols:

• ™ (for an unregistered trademark, that is, a mark used to promote or brand goods);
• ℠ (for an unregistered service mark, that is, a mark used to promote or brand services); and
• ® (for a registered trademark).

What is NOT covered by copyright

In general, it is not hard to have your work covered by copyright law. But what is not covered?

1. Short Titles - short writings such as Titles, names, short phrases, slogans, familiar symbols or designs, lettering, colors, or lists of ingredients can not be copyrighted.

for example;

A. Just Do It® - this is a Nike® Trademark (protected by a trademark, not a copyright–which I will talk about later)

B. ©— The copyright symbol itself can not be copyrighted

C. The ingredients of a Campbell’s® chicken soup

D. Mr., Mrs., Dr., or Ph. D.

E. Any color

2. Ideas - ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices. These can not be copyrighted since they are mere abstract concepts. (however, They might be protected by a patent law) But a description or an explanation of something can not be copyrighted because it is an example of an expression. An expression being… a unique way something is communicated.

3. Works without any Originality - Originality can include any aspect of created or invented works by as being new or novel, and thus can be distinguished from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or derivative works. An original work is one not received from others nor one copied based on the work of others.

Another type of NON-ORIGINAL work includes;

formulas / tables / rulers / calendars / symbols

Any of the above can, however be COMBINED with another element to create a work that is copyrightable. For example, a calendar company can use a non-copyrightable standard calendar and add graphic elements to make that calendar copyrightable.

REVIEW..  

*remember, works must be original and recorded

Here are a few examples of different works and an explanation of why they can or can not be copyrighted (taken from The Copyright Handbook 10th ed, by Attorney Stephen Fishmen)

YES – a self portrait of yourself, because it’s original and recorded on a canvass that cannot be copied and distributed to others

NO – a photograph of a book cover, because the cover of the book was created by someone else, and a photograph of that cover is nothing more than a direct copy

NO-  a hopscotch court you drew on your driveway. The drawing of the court may not be original, unless it has been drawn in some unique way. Another issue is, can this really be recorded? Since chalk can wash away it may not meet any requirements to consider it being “fixed.” However, if you took a photograph of a unique hopscotch court, that photograph could obtain a copyright.

NO- daughter’s school play. Unless it is an impromptu or unique performance, then and only then can the unique aspects of the play be copyrighted

YES- an interpretive depiction of a painting. (this is very very sticky situation) The new painting has to be unique enough and, in a nutshell.. be almost entirely different though. Remember… color can not be copyrighted so if all you do is change the color of a painted it is illegal.

Concept of Expression vs. an Idea

A single idea can be expressed in more than one way. Take for example, an illustration of a heart. As medical illustrators, we have seen thousands of drawings of hearts. Although both drawings talk about the same idea, the way they are expressed is different. Therefore, a distinctly separate copyright exists for BOTH drawings.

(Cynthia Schroeder)

(Bryan Christie)

A basic principle of copyright is that copyrights protect the IDEA and not the IDEA itself. Expression is the unique way in which you present information. You can copyright the way this heart is expressed, but you can not copyright the fact of having a heart illustration by itself.

Works, Originality, Recordation (3 essential requirements to a copyright)

Today I am going to go over some basics, as well as begin my outline for my website. I feel right now that it is hard to begin the outline, since I still have a lot of info to gather. Plus, I have to decide what information is crucial and what really is not before I can begin the outline. In order to do this I have a lot…. a lot… of reading ahead of me.

What is a copyright? A copyright is a type of legal protection provided by the United States federal government. The U.S. copyright law states that “copyright protection subsists… in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression… from which they can be percieved, preproduced, or otherwise communicated…”

UGH…. what does this mean>???? It means there are certain types of works that are protected under certain circumstances. The definition above can be broken down into a few simples parts… 1. works, 2. originality, and 3. recordation (otherwise known as fixed in a tangible medium)Each of these 3 things are all required to obtain a copyright.

1. Works- What is a “work?”

The subject matter that can be copyrighted is known as a work. When we talk about “works” we are using a very broad definition that refers to books, newspapers, software, artwork, music, plays. (just to name a few)

2. Originality- How can we define originality? We all know what it means to be “original,” but how does the law define it?

First and foremost, a work MUST be considered “original” in order to be copyrighted. Ex… if you copy the words out of a book and call it your own, it is NOT original. However if you read the book and write a report in your own words about your experience with that book you are now an original author, even though the words were inspired by someone else. If you take a song and make a new ending, you won’t have a copyright for the entire song, only the portion you created which was inspired by the original song.

Even a tiny bit of creativity and originality is needed for a work to be considered “original” by the law. However as visual artists, there is a fine line between what is considered “original” versus plagarized.

3. Recordation- The act or process of recording

The U.S. Copyright Office refers to recordation as a work “being fixed in a tangible medium.” This essential means the work is written down, recorded, or somehow accessible. There can be a lot of confusion however regarding the concept of “recordation.” Events like….. performances such as…… rock concerts, plays, sporting events, games, can cause the most trouble when it comes to recodation. Often impromptu events can happen which often makes it difficult to know who was the first to say what. For Example… if at a rock concert a band plays an impromtu song, it is very possible that without the right documentation that an audience memeber can go home and quickly write down the lyrics and call it their own. If the band does not have the right documentation to their work they stand the chance of losing something they created. This is why recodation at performances seems to be the most difficult to document. Because there is no tangible experience necessarily and it can be one person’s word against the other’s. In the absense of recordation, it’s difficult to establish what exactly was created. (although for the purposes of copyright law and medical illustration we don’t necessarily have to worry about the specifices of “preforming” since it is just not usually applicable to the profession, it is still important to know and could quite possibly become an issue lets say,… speaking at an event….. or discussing/brainstorming with a group… inventing new ideas amoung collegues which could be later tangilbe things.) So yes, an aspiring musician could very well go home and release a band’s impromptu song ang call it there own, however Congress passed a law called the Uruguay Round Agreements Acts to prevent this scenario. Someimes you will see a sign that say’s “no taping or video recording at this event”.  This is because taping a concert os considered a violation of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. This act precludes unauthorized taping and recording.

Probably if you are a medical illustrator you are not going to be singing songs at concerts. But if you are giving a speech (or listening to a speaker) it is illegal to record information without the consent of the speaker(s) involved. However this could vary from state to state. http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/recording-conversations-in-illinois

In a Nutshell…..  Recordation is important because no one wants to get into a battle of memories. The medium that you use to record the work is key. This medium must allow someone to perceieve, reproduce, or communicate the work.
“
The Following list are forms of tangible mediums for recording work

Audiotape / Flash, memory stick/ notebook/ hard disk drive/ scrap paper, napkin

The following list are NOT forms of tangible mediums

Your memory / your eyes/ the sand on a beach/ your word/ your “trustworthyness”

MedArtRights Research Project- The Committee

My Committee for my research project involves a lot of people of which I give much thanks to for their patience and time. Without these people my project can not, or will not be a success. Here is a list of the members of my Committee and the positions they hold.

The Committee Chair - Scott Thorn Barrows, MA, CMI, FMAI – Scott is the hed of our department of Biomedical Visualization in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois, Chicago. http://sbarrows.com/Home.html

Graphics and Design Advisor- Donna Hughes – www.hughesdesign.com/ Donnna is a faculty member at UIC. She teaches graphic design.

Technical Advisor- Scott Dixon, CMI – www.drviz.com/ Scott Dixon is also a faculty memeber at UIC. He teaches everything from website design to 3d animation.

Assistant Advisor – Teri McDermott, MA, CMI – www.terimcdermott.com/ Teri is a certified medical illustrator who has been involved with copyright law for a number of years. She served on the AMI board of governors and was also the President of the AMI from 1994-1995. She also is a found member of the Illustrators Partnership of America (IPA)

Assistant Advisor- Cynthia Turner, MA, CMI- www.terimcdermott.com/ Cynthia is a certified medical illustrator who has also been involved with copyright law for many years. She is a Founding Member and serves on the Board of Directors of the Illustrators’ Partnership of America, a professional rights management organization dedicated to protecting illustrator members’ intellectual property rights and creating collective licensing mechanisms for those rights.

Assistant Advisor- Deena Matthews, MA, CMI- www.lifehouseproductions.com/ Denna is also a medical illustrator who has been involved with copyright law for a few years. 

Research Project on Copyright Law- UIC Biomedical Visualization

It’s been a while since I’ve worked on this blog, however I decided to go back to using it as a resource for me to document my research work. My ultimate plan is to create a website resource geared towards undergraduate-level students and post-grad degree students describing their legal rights to their visual artwork. I hope the ultimate website will be as “visually friendly” as possible. There is no way around me detouring the heavy amount of text involved in this project, but I hope to break it up in some sort of user-friendly and visually appealing way. (Especially noting that my audience is primarily going to be visual people living in a world where they are adjusted to getting immediate information at the click of a button.)

As I work on my project I plan to add to the blog, describing information and the creation of a site geared towards students to better protect themselves and their work. I have a vision in my mind of how I want the final product to be, but it is going to take a lot of work to get there at this point. I am looking foward to see how it evolves in the future. The site will probably be an ongoing project that will always be changing as new laws are being created which apply to copyright interest. As well as the site being ongoing, you might find changes to the blog as well. I’m sort of new at this point to the whole blog-thing, but as time progresses I hope both the blog and the site will evolve for the better. I also thing showing how it began, from the ground up will teach students something as well. Creating any research project isn’t something that can be done overnight. I hope that it will be of some use for students to see how it began… where it is going… and what it became.

License to Steal

A Message to all Artists!

Orphan Works Acts- IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT LAW INFORMATION

The Orphan Works Acts, if enacted would change copyright law in such a way that it would be too costly (time and money) to make a living as a visual artist. There would be less of a need for new art because all one’s existing and new work would be open for others to use for free. Today we call those people- who use art without asking- infringers, those who steal art for their own profit

The Orphan Works Acts would affect visual artists who do not make a living from their art (create just for the joy of it). Someone, an infringer, would be able to use your art anywhere they like to make a buck and potentially in ways you would object.

The Orphan Works Acts would also affect anyone who takes snapshot photos and shares them through email or on the web. Your personal family memories could be used by unscrupulous people or in ways you may object – again just to make a buck. The Orphan Works Acts also opens up privacy issues- by allowing others to distribute and sell pictures of your family members and friends.

The Copyright Act of 1976 was created to allow artists to profit from their work thereby encouraging artists to create- a priceless gift that we presently are able to give to the world.

There may be a desire for libraries, museums, etc to acquire truly orphaned works – those in which the author will never be located. Most visual artists would support this cause for the greater good. But these Orphan Works Acts being pushed through congress are written so broadly, they do not take into account the devastating impact they will have on living and available (who can be located) artists.

Please ask your congressmen to vote in opposition to this act- in both house and senate.

Here’s a link to a web tool that allows you to do so effortlessly: http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

Select the letter that best represents you and edit it as you see fit. Then click to submit – and your letter will be sent immediately electronically to all your congressmen. Please forward and crosspost widely. Thank you.

(this letter was composed by Dena Matthews who has given permission to pass this information along. It is important to reach students at universities, art schools, colleges, etc., it is important to reach as many professors and teachers of art, design, illustration, and imaging as possible. It is also helpful to enlist the help of friends and family.)