Copyright for Creatives

You make stuff. You write, draw, paint, blog, and dance; you make music, film videos, act, sculpt, sew, and produce multimedia content. You’re a creative person who does creative things. Copyright for Creatives is a readable, informal, common-sense exploration of copyright law, designed specifically for creative people like you.

Written by a lawyer, publisher, educator, and admitted IP nerd, Copyright for Creatives sheds some light on what you can do to protect your work, what to do when you find out your work’s been “borrowed,” and why imitation is not really the sincerest form of flattery. We’ll look at what copyright is, what it isn’t, how to avoid infringement, and how copyright can work for you as a practical part of your creative life.

This book values all creative work equally, from writing and photography and music to fashion design; jewelry-making and graphic art, woodworking and needlework, to online videos. Its tone is friendly and conversational, and its focus is—as much as possible in a book about law—practical and applicable. It’s a real-world-oriented look at how copyright law impacts creative people, written specifically with them and their needs in mind.

In addition to providing an overview of the law and legal principles relevant to copyright, the book takes a deeper dive into a wide range of creative endeavors, and distinguishes the specific, unique copyright issues involved with each, including Architecture; Board Games; Calligraphy; Cartoons, Comic Strips & Comic Books; Characters; Choreography; Clothing; Clothing Patterns; Comedy; Computer Programs & Games; Costumes; Dance; Fan Art; Fan Fiction; Fan Films; Film-making; Game Design; Gardening/Landscaping; Graffiti; Graphic Design; Jewelry; Junking ; Movies; Musical Composition; Musical Performance; Musical Recordings; Musical Sampling; Needlework, Fabrics & Quilts; Painting & Sculpture; Performance Art; Photography; Podcasts; Pottery; Recipes & Cookbooks; Sculpture; Social Media; Stained Glass; Tattoos; Theater; Toys; T-shirts; Websites; Woodwork; Writing: Fiction; Writing: Nonfiction; Writing: Poetry; and more.

Copyright for Creatives also offers insights into copyright registration, Open Access, and an introduction to trademark and patent law for creative people.