If it doesn't have a Copyright Notice, is it still copyrighted?

Copyright is a protection that covers published and unpublished works as long as they are fixed in material form. Copyright protection begins when this work is actually created and put in any tangible form. For instance, if I write original song lyrics, the copyright begins at the moment the lyrics are put on paper in any form. Further proof can be created by putting the lyrics in an envelope and mailing them, thus using the postmark to establish the date of creation. Next, it is a good idea to register the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office if you hope to be able to sue for monetary damages.

However, if it doesn't have a copyright notice, is it still copyrighted? Today almost all major nations follow the Berne Copyright Convention. In the USA, almost everything created privately and originally after April 1, 1989 is copyrighted and protected whether it has a notice or not. This also applies to digital art and graphics.

As long as you are the true author of the work, it is legal to place the copyright © symbol next to your name. Actually, it is your right to do so. The best way to place a copyright notice is as follows: Copyright © (first date of creation) (name of owner) ex.: Copyright © 2010 Sheryl Skutelsky. You can use C in a circle © instead of "Copyright" but "(C)" has never been given legal force. The phrase "All Rights Reserved" used to be required in some nations but is now not legally needed most places. The dates that you see in a copyright statement do not refer to the dates that the owner's material will expire, but rather the dates that the material was created or modified.

When you see more than one date in a copyright, it means that certain things were created in one year and modified in another. It does not refer to the date that a copyright will expire. The Berne Convention establishes a minimum period that lasts the life of the author and fifty years after his or her death.

So, remember that in this digital age almost all things are copyrighted the moment they are written, and no copyright notice is required. Copyright can still be violated whether it is registered or not, but only the amount of damages is affected by that. By the way, posting E-mail is technically a violation, but revealing facts from E-mail you got isn't. The law doesn't do much to protect works with no commercial value. Copyright law was recently amended by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which changed Internet copyright in many ways by making computer programs illegal to copy. It might be a violation just to link to a web page, but it's undecided as of this date.

For more information, I found the following to be of great help: http://www.directlegal.com/learning_center.htm

For actually filing a copyright go to: http://www.copyright.gov/eco/.
Be careful with sites that charge just to help you file a copyright. The advantages of filing electronically include a lower filing fee of $35 for a basic claim and faster processing time. The next best option for registering basic claims is the new fill-in Form. The fee for a basic registration on Form CO is $50.

The fee for a basic registration using one of the government forms is $65 payable by check or money order. Form CON (continuation sheet for applications) is also still available in paper. These paper forms are not accessible on the Copyright Office website; however, staff will send them to you by postal mail upon request if you write to:

U.S. Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20559-6000
(202) 707-3000

Branding and Trust

One of the hardest things to do when creating a brand is creating trust in your company and its products or services. Gimmicks are good, but a good reputation is even more important.

How do you get the public to trust your business? Treat your customers or clients exactly as you would want to be treated if you were dealing with your business. It comes down to that old adage, "Treat others the way you would want them to treat you."

It won't be long before your honesty and sincerity bring in testimonials and word of mouth referrals making your brand shine.

Trust me on this!

Brand Building Doesn’t Have to Cost a Fortune

It isn’t necessary for a small business to have a huge advertising budget, but there are a few must haves to cement your brand identity.

First of all, you really do need a logo to give your business a recognizable face. Consistently using your logo on all printed materials increases brand image and awareness.

A web site is another must have in this digital age, as well as business cards that make use of your logo. These give potential clients a way to easily look up and get information on your business.

It doesn’t require spending a fortune to create a fabulous brand, but it does take planning and consistency. You need to know the image you want others to have of you and your business, and then, most important of all, you must get the word out.

Start using Facebook and Twitter to get people to check out your products or services. Always use your logo on all the social media pages. Also try to write articles which will show you to be an expert in your field. Finally, make sure that you do your homework on search engine optimization to make sure that your website comes up on the first page of the major Internet search engines using appropriate key words for your industry. A web site is useless if no one can find it.

5 Things to Consider before Finding a Logo Design Service

Your logo is a major element of your business identity. It is the first thing that a potential customer sees, and thus it makes the all important first impression.

Creating a great logo is a crucial responsibility of a graphic design service. Designers are professionally trained in creating simple, yet outstanding concepts that appeal to expressions about a product or service. A good designer will be aware of what colors and styles work best in a particular industry and how to design something unique upon your specified instructions.

Before setting out to have your logo designed, here are 5 basic things to consider:

1. What type of image are you going for? Do you want a descriptive logo with images or just a play on words?
2. What basic color would you like to use to represent your business? Will it fit in with your color scheme that is already in place on your web site or in your business correspondence?
3. What is the most important feature of your business that you would quickly like to convey? Is it a product or a service?
4. Do you want a complex or simple logo design? Large corporations like Nike or Target do well with simple, but a new small business might need more to make it memorable since it won’t have the huge exposure that the big guys can afford.
5. Do you want your business name to be part of your logo? Small businesses may find this feature more important because of their need for exposure without the capital for large scale advertising services.