Woe to you! You thieves and imitators of other people's labour and talents. Beware of laying your audacious hand on this artwork.
— Albrecht Durer 1511

Contents
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This site provides a reference about copyright, trademarks and brands for artists. Specifically:

• Copyright and artists' rights
• BASICS of Copyright infringement and Fair Use - for artists - if referencing the artwork of others, what are you allowed to do without getting into trouble
• How to protect artwork online - practical steps to prevent the risk of your artwork being stolen
• How to do a reverse image search - If you want to find out whether somebody has created copies of your photos or artwork on the Internet
• What to do about copyright infringement - for artists - if your artwork is stolen or plagiarised
• Global Conventions on Copyright - see the links below for  information about what how copyright applies in different countries
• A Guide to Photography in Public - what you can and cannot do [coming soon]
• Pinterest, Copyright and Spam - for Visual Artists & Photographers  [coming soon] - for copyright infringements on Pinterest and what you can do to prevent and resolve this

Copyright law in different countries
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Do you need an introduction to copyright for artists in a global marketplace where not all countries operate copyright law in exactly the same way?

Links to authoritative national websites, various bodies dealing with copyright matters and advice and information can be found below. These include advice on what what to do in your country if your copyright is infringed

• Global Conventions on copyright e.g. Berne Convention
• Copyright in the UK
• Copyright in USA
• Copyright and intellectual property in Canada
• Copyright and intellectual property in Australia

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What is copyright?
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Copyright (or author’s right) is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works. 
- Definition of Copyright (World Intellectual Property Organisation)

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Copyright is a legal right for people who create original work which allows them to protect their creative work for a specific period of time. However copyright cannot protect a concept, idea or fact. You can have an idea for a painting but you cannot copyright it until you produce it.

Copyright is a form of intellectual property. It's an an asset with a value:

• Copyright can be licensed to third parties for the purposes of publication and reproduction - within the specific terms of the licence.
• Copyright continues for a specific period of time after your death. This varies by country. It can be assigned to your heirs -after your death.

Copyright prevents other people exploiting your creation and making money from it. If people infringe your copyright you can bill them for your lost income.

List of different countries and the length of their standard copyright in years

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Blogging about Copyright
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These are blogs which post regularly about copyright matters

• The 1709 Blog
  a blog dedicated to all things copyright, warts and all.
• The Copyright Zone
  Not just copyright. A Survival Blog for Photographers, Artists and the Confused
• Plagiarism Today
  RSS feed for Plagiarism Today - all the latest blog posts
• Laurence Kaye on Digital Media Law
  This is a blog about the future of digital media law from Laurie Kaye, Laurence Kaye Solicitors.
• You Thought We Wouldn't Notice... | but we did!
  Blog listing and calling out plagiarism Seems to have stopped posting
  

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Note: I'm not a lawyer and you should not rely on any assertions I make as legal advice. I'm just an ordinary artist and writer who is trying to make sense of copyright in relation to visual art - and what artists can do if their copyright is infringed and/or others act in such a way as to create orphan works from their copyright protected artwork. These pages organises links to what seem to me to be relevant websites. If you need the help of a lawyer you should engage a professional.