There are two reasons for having at least a basic understanding of copyright: To protect your own work. To avoid infringing on another's work WARNING: I am not a copyright lawyer. Please do not take my word on this information as gospel. If you have any problem with copyright infringement, please see a lawyer who specializes in this field.

There are several basic items that are of importance:

• What does Copyright protect?
• The Copyright Notice
• How long does Copyright Protection Last?
• How do I Register My Copyright?
• What are the Penalties for Infringing a Copyright?
• What is Fair Use?

For additional information, visit the U.S. Copyright Office Home Page.

Copyright protects expression in a tangible form.

The Copyright Act of 1976 states that the forms of expression can include literary, dramatic, and musical works, pantomimes and choreography, pictorial, graphic and sculptural works, audio-visual works, sound recordings, and architectural works.

An original expression is eligible for copyright protection as soon as it is fixed in a tangible form. This means that this web page is protected as soon as I stop typing and save it. It also means that an idea that you have in your mind is not protected until you "fix" it in some tangible form.

Some things, by their very nature are not eligible for copyright protection:

• Ideas

  Ideas have no tangible form. Only the "expression" of ideas in tangible form is protected. The same idea, expressed in another way can also be protected by someone else.

  Ideas can sometimes be protected by patents. Patents are difficult to obtain, very expensive, and subject to challenge. Patents are not discussed here.

• Processes and Methods

  A process is not copyrightable. If you want, you can spend $3000 to $100,000 or more to try to patent it. For something like this, you are unlikely to be successful. In general, copyright covers only the "tangible" expression of an idea, not the idea itself. Thus, your instructions for doing a new technique are copyrightable. The new technique may be patentable (expensive) but it is not copyrightable. Someone else can come up with a different set of instructions for the same technique and they are not infringing on your copyright.

• Facts

  Facts are not an "expression" — they are a reality. How the facts are presented or compiled may be an expression that is eligible for copyright.

• Titles

  Titles are not protected because we would soon run out of good titles, and because it would cause trademark problems.

  A title cannot be used as a trademark. However a phrase or logo used across several titles, to identify a product line for commercial purposes, can be protected. Trademarks are not discussed here.

• Names

  Names are not protected because we would soon run out of names.

• Short phrases

  Short phrases are not protected because we would soon run out of words. A work must have a reasonable length to be protected so that there is no conflict with a trademark, and so that the language cannot be appropriated by a few individuals.

• Typefaces

  Typefaces are not protected because we would soon run out of letters.

The following things (among others) are eligible for copyright protection:

• Doll patterns (paper or electronic)

• Dolls (as sculpture)

• Photographs of dolls (as photographs)

• Books and videos about dolls or dollmaking

• Collections of information about sources for dollmaking

• Dollmaker's web pages

Until 1988, in order to have any copyright protection at all, and prevent the work from going into the public domain, a copyright notice had to be attached to the work to put the world on notice that the work was protected. While this is no longer true, it is still a good idea to attach a copyright notice to copyrighted works in order to be eligible for certain types of damages under the law. (You can't sue for infringement and collect damages in some cases if there is no copyright notice.)

There are three elements to the copyright notice:

1. The copyright symbol (a "c" in a circle, ©)

   The copyright symbol is required in many foreign countries in order to obtain copyright. In the United States, the term "Copyright" may be substituted for the copyright symbol. This makes notification on some computer documents much easier.

2. The year of copyright

3. The name of the copyright holder

   The Copyright Notice must include the name of the owner of the copyright. The legal owner of the copyright is not necessarily the author or creator of the work. Copyrights can be assigned or sold, and some works are "made-for-hire" where the employer owns the copyright by legal agreement.

How long a copyright lasts depends on when the work was created.

• If the work was created before January 1, 1978, the copyright expires 75 years from the date of publication (if the copyright was renewed). That means that anything older than 1935 or so is now part of the public domain (not protected).

• If the work was created after January 1, 1978, and the copyright is owned by an individual, the copyright will last for the life of the author, plus an additional 50 years.

• If the work was created after January 1, 1978, and the copyright is owned by the employer of the author, the copyright will last 75 years from the date of publication, or 100 years from the date of creation, whichever occurs first.

The Copyright Act gives you protection just for creating your work and fixing it in a tangible form. The registration process is easy and straightforward, and the fees are reasonable, but, if you already have protection, why bother registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office?

• The ability to sue

  You cannot actually sue someone for infringing your copyright until you have registered your work with the Copyright Office.

• Satutory damages

  If you register your work within the time limit from the date of first publication, you can collect statutory damages from the infringer. Otherwise, you can only collect actual damages, which may be minimal.

To register your work,

1. Go to the U.S. Copyright Office Home Page.
2. Click on the Electronic Copyright Office button.
3. Download either the PowerPoint tutorial or the PDF tutorial and read it.
4. When you are ready, log in and register your work.

"Registering a claim is as easy as 1-2-3…"
(according to the Electronic Copyright Office tutorial):

1. Application - A series of screens prompt you for
   information.
2. Payment - You can pay with your credit/debit card, ACH,
   or by setting up a deposit account.
3. Work to be registered - Either (a) upload a digital copy of
   your work (for certain categories of works only) or (b)
   print out a shipping slip to be attached to your work for
   delivery by U.S. Postal Service.

A nonrefundable filing fee of $35 (7/2009) is required for each application. It takes about six months for the paperwork to get back to you with a certificate.

You can be sued:

• If the work is registered within the time limit from the date of first publication, you can be sued for statutory damages. Statutory damages can be from less than $200 to more than $100,000 plus attorney fees and court costs. How much you will have to pay depends on whether the court thinks the infringement was malicious.

• If the work was not registered within the time limit from the date of first publication, you can only be sued for three times actual damages. Actual damages are how much money the author of the work lost because of the infringement. For example, if you sell two doll patterns at $10 each and make a profit of $16 ($8 each copy), the most you can pay in damages is $48 (3 times actual damages) — not enough to pay an attorney. However, you have no way of knowing if the pattern was registered within the time limit, so you could end up losing your home for a single copy. Even if you give it away instead of selling it, it is an infiringement because you took a potential sale away from the copyright owner.

On a practical basis, nobody wants to sue and take away your house for making a copy of a pattern or selling a doll made from a pattern. If you make a few copies of a pattern or sell a few dolls on a local basis without attracting much attention, you will be breaking the law, but you aren't likely to be caught. On the other hand, if you set up a factory and produce thousands of copied patterns or dolls, you are certain to get caught and certain to pay a whole lot.

There are a few exceptions granted in the copyright law where you can make a copy without penalty. These exceptions are called "Fair Use." In general, there are only two or three cases you will ever see:

• A short portion of a work can be quoted in a review.

• A short portion of a work can be quoted in a sales brochure by a company reselling the product.

• A short portion of a work can be quoted in a compilation or catalog describing similar such works.

All of these uses are subject to judicial review. There is no sure way to know that it is safe to make copies except to have the copyright owner's permission.