Copyrights

Copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. A software program’s code can be protected. The concept behind it cannot. Understanding where that line falls is often the whole question.

What this covers

• Copyright registration for musical works, sound recordings, film, writing, software, and visual art
• Ownership analysis, including work made for hire and joint authorship
• Assignments, licenses, and transfers
• Termination and reversion of transferred rights
• Infringement analysis and cease and desist correspondence
• Fair use questions in commercial and creative contexts
• Clearance for samples, interpolations, and derivative works

A note on AI generated work

Under current United States law, purely machine generated output is not protected by copyright. Work created with AI assistance can still be protected to the extent a human contributed the creative expression. If AI is part of your process, documenting the human contribution is no longer optional.