Copyright law in the United States is directly authorized by the U.S. Constitution. The copyright clause of the Constitution authorizes Congress "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

Copyright law was originally developed to protect the authors of books and printed material. Today, copyright law extends protection to the authors of “original works of authorship”, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. Copyright protection is available for published and unpublished works and provides the owner of the copyright the exclusive right to do and authorize others to do the following:

• Reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords
• Prepare derivative works based upon the work
• Distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending
• Perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works
• Display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
• Perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission

Our attorneys are experienced in all facets of copyright law and ready to assist your company in securing the greatest amount of copyright protection available. We can also assist your company in vigorously defending your copyrights in the marketplace against infringement and misappropriation. Finally, we defend companies against copyright lawsuits brought by competitors in the marketplace.

Contact us today and find out how our copyright attorneys can help your company.