"T R A U M A"
..copyright(s) & cc.

˓ ִֶָ𓄲 🐁 COPYRIGHT(S) 𖦹 ࣪˖ ˒
I know legal stuff is kinda tough to understand sometimes and really not the most exciting topic to talk about. But whether or not you want to become a professional and make money out of your works in the future, you should know a few things about copyrights and how to protect yourself and other creators.

So what exactly is "Copyright", when does it apply and for what does it apply? Well, I found a website that pretty much sums it up pretty well for you.

"Copyright is an automatic right assigned to the creator of any piece of original work. This could be one person, multiple people or a company. Copyright allows the owner to control how their work is used.
A copyright owner has the exclusive right to copy, distribute, perform, broadcast or adapt a work. Anyone who wants to reproduce copyrighted work must seek permission from the copyright holder, or check whether the owner has permitted particular use through a license.

There are some exceptions that allow the use of copyrighted material without permission from the owner. These only apply under very specific circumstances. Some of these exceptions are relevant to educational use, but you will still need to stay within certain limits.
Copyright lasts for a fixed period. This ranges from decades to centuries. Once works are out of copyright they become freely available in the public domain, although other restrictions on reuse may apply."

(quoted from: https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1405/copyright/33/copyright_explained)

Any original work, published or unpublished, is **automatically protected by copyright; such as the following:
+ literary, dramatic, musical & artistic work
+ software, web content & databases
+ film & television recordings
+ sound & music recordings
+ layout of published editions.

Though copyright does not protect ideas (unless recorded in some form, such as text or image), thoughts or facts.

**automatically: In all countries where the Berne Convention standards apply, copyright is applied automatically and does not require registration with any governmental office.

Here's a map of the parties to the convention:

(image from: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention)

Please keep in mind, that some things (such as when copyright applies and when it expires, as well as if registration is required or not in order to be able to take legal actions like DMCA reports for example) may be handled differently in different countries. So do not hesitate to check the respective laws of your country! In case you have some more informations or tips, feel free to leave them in the comment section.

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˓ ִֶָ𓄲 🐁 CC LICENSES 𖦹 ࣪˖ ˒
It is important to (at least roughly) know a few things about so called "creative commons licenses", as they are a form of permission that either allows or denies a certain use of original works (of your own or from others).

Once again I found a few websites, which explain the different types of licenses and what they allow you to do or not.

"Creative Commons (CC) licenses are public licenses. You can use them to indicate what other people are allowed to do with your work. Each work is automatically protected by copyright, which means that others will need to ask permission from you as the copyright owner.

CC licenses are legal tools to give said permission in advance to share and use your work – on conditions of your choice. There are six different Creative Commons licenses: CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC BY-NC, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC-SA, CC BY-NC-ND."

(quoted from: https://www.wur.nl/en/article/What-are-Creative-Commons-licenses.htm)

I would say this image offers a pretty simple overview of what each license requires/allows you to do.

(image from: https://foter.com/blog/how-to-attribute-creative-commons-photos/)

₀₀₁ CC BY:
"Attribution"
This license allows you to distribute, remix, tweak and build upon the original work (commercially too); as long as you credit the original work.

₀₀₂ CC BY-SA:
"Attribution-ShareAlike"
This license allows you to distribute, remix, tweak and build upon the original work (commercially too); as long as you credit the original work and license your new creations under the identical terms. All new works based on the creation should carry the same license, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use.

₀₀₃ CC BY-ND:
"Attribution-NoDerivs"
This license allows redistribution (commercial and non-commercial); as long as the original work is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit back to it.

₀₀₄ CC BY-NC:
"Attribution-NonCommercial"
This license allows you to distribute, remix, tweak and build upon the original work non-commercially. Your new work must be non-commercial and credit the original work, but you do not have to license your derivative work on the same terms.

₀₀₅ CC BY-NC-SA:
"Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike"
This license allows you to distribute, remix, tweak and build upon the original work non-commercially; as long as you credit the original work and license your new work under the same terms.

₀₀₆ CC BY-NC-ND:
"Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs"
This license allows you to only download the original work and share it with others; as long as you credit the original work. You can not change the original work in any way or use it commercially.

(infos from: https://foter.com/blog/how-to-attribute-creative-commons-photos/)

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˓ ִֶָ𓄲 🐁 CR INFRINGEMENT 𖦹 ࣪˖ ˒
There are a few more things in relation to copyright infringement(s) I would like to talk about. I will try to structure them as organized as possible, so it is easy to follow. But please (for everything inside this chapter actually) keep in mind to always do your own research too, especially when it comes to laws. I just provide snippets of information.

₀₀₁ what is copyright infringement:
As mentioned, copyright is automatically assigned to the creator (a person, a group of people or even companies) of any piece of original work.

The copyright owner holds the exclusive right to use their work, including:
+ copying the work;
+ adapting, transforming, translating, or creating other works from the original one;
+ distributing the work to the public by sale or other methods;
+ publicly displaying the work.

But the copyright owner can also allow others to use their work, with the help of different cc licenses. So far so good, nothing really knew if you have read the previous chapter (or already knew some things about copyright).

So, if you are not the copyright holder and you don't have their permission to do one of the things listed above, you may be infringing their (copyright holder) copyright. Doing so is considered an actual crime and may lead to legal and financial consequences in the aftermath. In addition to that it also negatively affects (damages) your reputation.

₀₀₂ a few examples:
Let us move on to a few examples of what could be considered/may lead to copyright infringement, specifically in relation to (cover) design here on wattpad.

+ using artwork (e.g. fanart, digital art, ..) or photography you have found somewhere on the Internet (for example) to create a book cover; without the permission of the original creator/copyright holder or specific cc licenses

+ using the creation another designer has made; cropping it, taking specific parts out of it or even as a whole, erasing watermarks; without the permission of the original creator/copyright holder or specific cc licenses

+ using (stock) resources commercially when you are only allowed to us them in a non-commercial way

These are only very few examples, feel free to leave more in the comment section!

₀₀₃ filing copyright claims:
If you think your rights to your copyrighted work have been violated, you can claim a copyright infringement. Please keep in mind though, that in some countries it may be required to register the copyright beforehand, which then allows you to take further legal steps and generally gain an advantage in court and prove your damages.

In order to claim a copyright infringement, you must be able to prove that:
+ you are the owner of a valid copyright;
+ the defendant actually (mis)used the work, by direct evidence (in regards of copying: or because the work has a striking similarity to your own work);
+ the (mis)used work/sections of the work are protected by copyright.

Wattpad also offers you to file a so called "DMCA report", in case of copyright infringement (text & images). You can find more infos about it here: https://support.wattpad.com/hc/en-us/articles/204471770-Reporting-copyright-infringement

₀₀₄ plagiarism:
Ahh yes, a very serious issue I personally had to deal with many times myself unfortunately (in terms of other creators plagiarizing my works and intellectual property).

"According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to "plagiarize" means:

to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own.
to use (another's production) without crediting the source.
to commit literary theft.
to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterwards."

(quoted from: https://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-plagiarism)

Let us take a look at a few examples:
+ claiming someone else's work (text & images) as your own
+ copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit back to them
+ providing incorrect information about an (original) source you have used
+ copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not
+ re-creating a visual work in the same medium (e.g. shooting a photograph that uses the same composition and subject matter as someone else's photograph)
+ re-creating a visual work in a different medium (e.g.: making a painting that closely resembles another person's photograph)
+ re-mixing or altering copyrighted images, even if done so in an original way

Most of the time plagiarism can be avoided, through providing proper credits back to original sources.

The safest approaches to take in regards to the examples above is to confirm the works' usage permissions and provide proper credits, or to avoid them altogether. Because using something (text & images) in a work you have produced without receiving proper permission and/or providing proper credits is plagiarism and further infringes other's copyrights.

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˓ ִֶָ𓄲 🐁 FAIR USE & FANART 𖦹 ࣪˖ ˒
In addition to all previous informations I would also like to include some more about fair use and fanart. Again, do not blindly follow only the information I state in here and always do your own research as well, as some laws vary throughout different countries.

₀₀₁ "fair use":
What is "fair use" you may ask? Well, who would have thought, I found another great article explaining it to you!

"In its most general sense, a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and "transformative" purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. In other words, fair use is a defense against a claim of copyright infringement. If your use qualifies as a fair use, then it would not be considered an infringement.

There are no hard-and-fast rules, only general guidelines and varied court decisions, because the judges and lawmakers who created the fair use exception did not want to limit its definition. Like free speech, they wanted it to have an expansive meaning that could be open to interpretation."

(quote from: https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/)

₀₀₂ fanart:
Since many of us also consider their designs and creations as "fanart" (especially when it comes to face claims), I would like to include a few infos about fanart (of celebrities and fictional characters) in regards of "fair use" and copyrights, though I advice everyone to make further researches (especially since laws differentiate throughout different countries etc.) themselves as well, to really be on the safe side.

So, what exactly is fanart? Let us ask the Internet about it.

"Fan art refers to drawn works that fans of an artist, a music group, an author, a television series, or the like create. The heroes or main characters are often chosen as the motif. The typical style of the model is imitated, modified or expanded. The image does not always have to be a simple copy of existing works; fans often invent their own series or storylines. [...]

Fan art can take many forms. In addition to traditional paintings and drawings, fan artists may also create conceptual, sculpture, video art, livestreams, web banners, avatars, graphic designs or web-based animations, as well as photo collages, posters, artistic representations of quotes from a work or artistic representations of characters in new contexts or in contexts that are in keeping with the original series."

(quoted from: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_art and https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan-Art)

So far so good. And what about creating said fanart in terms of copyrights of whoever we base our fanart on?

"Celebrities are considered to be public figures, meaning that they lose a lot of the protections that ordinary citizens have, which includes owning their likeness. [...]

Copyright only applies to fixed forms of creative expression, such as fictional characters and places. If your painting is based off another picture or artwork, such as photographs, drawings, or sculptures, then the issue of copyright is with the creator of that medium — i.e., the way the subject is presented, not the subject itself. But if you're creating an original piece using the likeness of a celebrity, then you should be fine, especially if it falls within the boundaries of Fair Use. Exceptions to this are like defamation or false endorsement.

In fact, chances are that if the artwork is done in good faith, public figures may actually really appreciate it, as it's both free marketing on their part and shows a sign of support for them. In my experience, just about every drawing and cartoon I've done involving public figures has been enthusiastically endorsed by them. [...]"

(quote from: Brent Cherry in regards of this post https://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-way-I-can-paint-celebrities-and-sell-the-painting-without-infringing-copyright)

So, after reading that statement from Brent Cherry, let us bring fan art further into relation with fair use/copyright infringements and look at another article I found online.

"[...] most fan creations are built upon plot elements and other copyrightable parts of the original material.

That being said, fair use may protect some fan creations from being an infringement, but that is handled on a case-by-case basis, looking at the facts of the actual work. However, most fan creations, by their very nature, don't parody or criticize the source material, which would provide a great deal of protection, nor are they highly transformative, meaning that they are less likely to win in the even that such a suit takes place. [...]

Yet, despite a relatively strong legal position, lawsuits over fan fiction and fan art are extremely rare. [...]

From a copyright holder viewpoint, fan fiction and art is usually not very harmful. [...]

In short, since fan creations don't take away sales of the original work, they are often seen as free promotion and a way to grow the brand without cost or effort.

The bigger issue, however, is the cost of going to war with fans. Being litigious with creators of fan art can be very costly, not just in terms of court costs, but in terms of backlash. No creator wants to sue their fans, especially when the fans aren't earning revenue, and as such most creators will tolerate fan fiction and art under most circumstances"

(quoted from: https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2010/05/13/the-messy-world-of-fan-art-and-copyright/)

In short: know your limits, know your laws, respect other creators and especially human beings as a whole, do not make profit out of it and be ready to take on responsibility for possibly infringing other's (copy)rights.

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˓ ִֶָ𓄲 ☁️ SOURCES 𖦹 ࣪˖ ˒
Down below is a summary of all sources used for this chapter.

₀₀₁ Text(s):
https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1405/copyright/33/copyright_explained
https://www.wur.nl/en/article/What-are-Creative-Commons-licenses.htm
https://foter.com/blog/how-to-attribute-creative-commons-photos/
https://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-plagiarism
https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/
https://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-way-I-can-paint-celebrities-and-sell-the-painting-without-infringing-copyright
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_art https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan-Art
https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2010/05/13/the-messy-world-of-fan-art-and-copyright/

₀₀₂ Image(s):
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention
https://foter.com/blog/how-to-attribute-creative-commons-photos/

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© eggyeuls, 2022