Attention Artists And Writers: Know Your Intellectual Property Rights

If you’re an artist, a writer, a lyricist, or anyone belonging to the artistic realm, especially if you are just new on the scene and you want to break in the market, it is just natural that you’ll do anything to succeed. But how do you do that without being exploited or being “used” (without being paid) and share your talents to the world and reap the fruits of your labor? It’s not easy for the artists and the creative people out there wanting to make a name for themselves and still being given to them what’s due to them.

Hence, the term “intellectual property” was coined. Maybe you’ve already heard this before--so, what is intellectual property? It applies to what the mind created and they include stuff like: inventions, literary works, artistic works, designs, images, symbols and names utilized for commercial purposes. According to Wikipedia, “It is legal property rights over creations of the mind, both commercial and artistic, and the corresponding fields of law.” And it’s a good thing we have the Intellectual Property Law to protect the artists’ rights.

Intellectual property is classified into two groups, namely industrial property and copyrights. The industrial property is comprised of trademarks, industrial designs and patents. A trademark is the intellectual property security or protection that is utilized to guard the unique features or characteristics which differentiate one product from another product. These features could consist of those things like: colors, brands, symbols, names, signs, shapes, smells and sounds.

A patent provides the inventors of a new product, only a certain limited amount of time in which they prevent other people from selling, creating or using their own invention or creation without authorization. On the other hand, copyrights consist of such artistic works (art works like paintings, sculptures, photographs, architectural designs, drawings and sketches) and literary works, like books, novels, poems, films, songs, plays, and some other musical creation.

Copyrights grant the authors of an exclusive creation or work, the restricted rights to that work for a definite extent of time. Copyrights, not to forget, must be renewed from time to time, permitting the inventors or creators of the original piece of work, the chance to benefit (and to promote) their piece of creation.

Today’s society in general, benefits from this law and in this intellectual property rights, in a way that these laws and rights foster/promote ingenuity and inventiveness. They let the rest of the humanity (us included) avail of the wide array of new and novel products and services to be enjoyed used.

It’s a good thing that the intellectual property laws help or assist the inventor of a property, by rewarding the inventor or creator for their artistry, creativity and originality. If you think or feel you have been violated or victimized of your copyright, patent or trademark, it can amount to the grounds for an intellectual property lawsuit.

So if you think your rights are being violated or persecuted, it will be advisable to seek advice from a competent lawyer you can find.