General writing question/copyright.

[ctg]

In the USA copyright protection is in the hands of private law firms; they are actually very backward in intellectual property protection.

Private law firms ... say no more. I think we all know how much power they hold in their hands, when they can direct foreign country policies. They are just a punch of greedy middle hands, and they don't deserve a penny from the artist hard earned royalties.

While these (and most European rights societies) are government sponsored, they still take a cut out of the royalties they collect to cover their expenses.

So, the government get their cut from the royalties before they tax on remaining amount? Well, at least they are not as corrupted as the private lawyers, and you get some benefits out from their agendas (not talking about spending money to wage wars).

 

[Zubi-Ondo]

Zubi, I know you are being whimsical, but I also suspect that you are confusing holding copyrights and recording copyrights. So far as I know, the Library of Congress does neither. The US Copyright Office registers copyrights. The Library of Congress collects and catalogues books, recordings, photographs, maps, and manuscripts -- but the copyrights remain in the hands of the authors and artists who create those books, recordings, etc. (Otherwise, they would be collecting our royalties, and that would not be a happy state of affairs.)

Right, I used the wrong word (hold) - I was truly quite tired when I wrote that. The LOC merely "holds" your work. The U.S. Copyright Office is who technically "gives" you the copyright (The copyright office is a division of the LOC) and as long as it doesn't conflict with anything, in essence you are "claiming the copyright" on the work. That way if anyone else tries to claim ownership of the work, you have registered proof that it is yours. I've only ever done it with recorded music. I've never been happy enough with a written work yet to copyright it.

- Z.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

You hold the copyright as soon as you write it (compose it, etc.), the Copyright Office only registers it so that you can prove it later, if you have to.

 

[Zubi-Ondo]

In the USA copyright protection is in the hands of private law firms; they are actually very backward in intellectual property protection. ... The free market apparently considers anything you can get away with stealing, more luck to you.

I won't disagree that the US is "backward in intellectual property protection". But really, like Teresa says, you "own" the copyright as soon as you create the work. Registering it with the Library of Congress gets it recognized by the US copyright office, and there is a small fee involved. As far as I know, the only time lawyers get involved is if there is a dispute. (i.e. "Copyright infringement") If you had not registered it with the Library of Congress, it would be a lot harder for a lawyer to help you. Now if you want to "patent" something, that's different. You can't get a patent without a "patent search", and that requires a lawyer right out of the gate.

Now, as to the original question at the top of the thread - I found this in the text of the US copyright law:

"(a) Pictorial Representations Permitted. — The copyright in an architectural work that has been constructed does not include the right to prevent the making, distributing, or public display of pictures, paintings, photographs, or other pictorial representations of the work, if the building in which the work is embodied is located in or ordinarily visible from a public place."

I'm guessing what is implied here is that the architectural drawings are "copyrighted" but the image is not, and, as I am not a lawyer (thank God), I'm not entirely sure.

- Z.

 

[Radrook]

If you were monumentally unlucky enough to provide an accurate description of somewhere that is highly restricted, there may be a problem.


Or maybe not.

Like the FBI, CIA, and IRS converging on your apartment?