How to Use Copyright Law to Your Advantage

Copyright laws are in place to protect creators of products such as songs, artwork and books. These copyright laws prevent others from using your content or products to generate income without your legal permission. It is these laws that enable creators of these products to file legal claims against individuals who violate these laws. 

• Register your work with the United States Copyright office to protect your rights as the creator of this work and/or product. This copyright prevents others from copying, altering or using your work without a legal contract providing them sufficient rights. 


• Remove your work and/or content from websites in which it was posted that you did not authorize. This has been beneficial to recording artists who find unauthorized posting and/or uploading of their songs, which hinder sells of their products. 


• Copyright a name you use for business purposes. This prevents other individuals from using this name within the same industry. For example if you name your band The Misfits it is a direct violation of a copyright law for another band to legally call themselves by the same name in the music industry. 


• Copyright catch phrases you use in character. For example Larry the Cable Guy's catch phrase is "Getter Done!" If he registered this catch phrase for a copyright it would then become illegal for another comedian to use this catch phrase within their material or within any product without Larry the Cable Guy's legal consent under a written contract. 


• Follow the Fair Use laws pertaining to copyrighted materials. The Fair Use laws allow you to use content written by other individuals as long as you cite the original author within the content. For example if you quote a line within a book in a magazine article you are required under the Fair Use laws to properly cite the book from which the content originated and the author who write it.