How dangerous is it to go without a copyright?

[Jason76]

The site https://dailydrumlesson.com (and connected Facebook page of the same name) has no copyright on its stuff, none to be found - not on the main webpages or the pdf documents. Anyway, looks like he has good stuff on there - but it's bait to get sued maybe.

Anyway copyrights can be a pain and expensive to some.

 

[mav3n]

He doesn't need copyright protection, it's automatically granted to him after creating the work. However, more benefits are provided if you do register the copyright, such as being eligible for statutory damages.

 

[Jason76]

He doesn't need copyright protection, it's automatically granted to him after creating the work. However, more benefits are provided if you do register the copyright, such as being eligible for statutory damages.

Yeah, that's true - but you know, as you said, a registration offers way more protection.

 

[Elli]

Lucky is correct. In the US, copyright is automatically assigned to the creator. Also, if you look at the very bottom of the page, there is a copyright notice:

© dailydrumlesson

 

[Jason76]

Lucky is correct. In the US, copyright is automatically assigned to the creator. Also, if you look at the very bottom of the page, there is a copyright notice:

© dailydrumlesson

OK, missed that one! 😀

 

[Ghost]

So, a lot of people ask about copyrights, trademarks, and patents.
Copyright is pretty much inherited automatically when you create something, but obviously you can make it more official.
Trademarks are very good and can protect you against someone using your brand name, logo, etc. However, there have been cases where trademarks almost weren't enough. I remember when Nintendo was pushing their console, people started calling other game consoles 'nintendos' and it started to become slang for video game consoles. So, Nintendo the company responded by pushing the phrase 'video game console' to try to reshape how the community labeled their own console & others. By doing so the term 'nintendo' stopped being used to describe any console and was recognized as their specific brand name. They protected their trademark, but had the world kept calling everything 'nintendos' they could have lost their trademark even though it was registered.

This can happen to anyone - letting a trademarked phrase or word slip into common tongue / slang that is no longer able to be trademarked.

Patents are even more screwy, but not in the same way. Many people have realized over the years that some companies are willing to steal patented ideas or replicate them & create their own product because they can just pay a settlement if they get in trouble. On top of that many start ups cannot pay the tens of thousands of dollars required to properly file a patent. Provisional patents are cheaper, but offer less protection and aren't valid for long. The full patent costs tons of money and it can actually be better to spend the money on developing the patented technology because if a large corporation decides to steal the idea, the start up most likely wouldn't have enough money to defend the patent in court - rendering the patent somewhat useless.

Copyright/TM/patent laws are incredible, but with the internet and culture we have today they don't actually protect as many people as they used to. On top of that many countries won't even recognize a US patent - requiring a company to file patents across the globe, costing even more. This is why we see Asia creating knock offs - the US patents aren't enforceable & it would cost companies (even name brands) way too much money to go after every small company copying their trademarked logo / design style / etc.

 

[Jason76]

This is why we see Asia creating knock offs - the US patents aren't enforceable & it would cost companies (even name brands) way too much money to go after every small company copying their trademarked logo / design style / etc.

I'm trying to think of some funny foreign knock-off names. 😀

 

[Alexandoy]

I had attended a one week seminar of WIPO (world intellectual property office) in Singapore. Although it is better to secure a copyright for your work but it is all right as long as you can prove the date when you had published your work. One method is to email the work to yourself so it will have a date stamped on the email. That is proof enough in case of copyright infringement that you have to sue the copycat.

 

[hazeldig]

Lucky is correct. In the US, copyright is automatically assigned to the creator. Also, if you look at the very bottom of the page, there is a copyright notice:

© dailydrumlesson

Same applies to the UK as far as I know too. 😛
I think it covers life of creator+70 yrs.

 

[Carlos X]

He doesn't need copyright protection, it's automatically granted to him after creating the work. However, more benefits are provided if you do register the copyright, such as being eligible for statutory damages.

Yeah, that's true - but you know, as you said, a registration offers way more protection.

The problem isn't that, though. That site is generic. It's just a bunch of "common-name" words, you can't really trademark "daily drum lesson" for your own use. For trademarks to actually work, it needs to be "exclusive" to your franchise. Call of Duty isn't really word mark, it's a franchise mark. While the name is generic, the franchise itself is theirs - Activision.

 

[Jason76]

Trademarking would be a bit tough with DailyDrumLesson.com but also with a possible DailyDrumLesson.net, DailyDrumLesson.xyz etc.. as competitors.

 

[Carlos X]

Trademarking would be a bit tough with DailyDrumLesson.com but also with a possible DailyDrumLesson.net, DailyDrumLesson.xyz etc.. as competitors.

It's got NOTHING to do with domains, dude. Let me put it this way: Did you know you could trademark "Call of Duty," and it would provide protection to domain squatting? Yup. If you tried today to buy "CallofDuty.BLOG" (notice the dot there...?) on namecheap, or another service - you'll get an error or prompt telling you that you can't register the domain. If you do succeed, you may be free for a while, but expect a lawsuit or lawsuits.

 

[Jason76]

Trademarking would be a bit tough with DailyDrumLesson.com but also with a possible DailyDrumLesson.net, DailyDrumLesson.xyz etc.. as competitors.

It's got NOTHING to do with domains, dude. Let me put it this way: Did you know you could trademark "Call of Duty," and it would provide protection to domain squatting? Yup. If you tried today to buy "CallofDuty.BLOG" (notice the dot there...?) on namecheap, or another service - you'll get an error or prompt telling you that you can't register the domain. If you do succeed, you may be free for a while, but expect a lawsuit or lawsuits.

Well, that might be a good reason to get a trademark - to protect a site already made (with the name) from getting sued. BUt really, myself, I don't mind if other people use "The Drum Lesson" - as they don't sue me, lol !

 

[Carlos X]

Trademarking would be a bit tough with DailyDrumLesson.com but also with a possible DailyDrumLesson.net, DailyDrumLesson.xyz etc.. as competitors.

It's got NOTHING to do with domains, dude. Let me put it this way: Did you know you could trademark "Call of Duty," and it would provide protection to domain squatting? Yup. If you tried today to buy "CallofDuty.BLOG" (notice the dot there...?) on namecheap, or another service - you'll get an error or prompt telling you that you can't register the domain. If you do succeed, you may be free for a while, but expect a lawsuit or lawsuits.

Well, that might be a good reason to get a trademark - to protect a site already made (with the name) from getting sued. BUt really, myself, I don't mind if other people use "The Drum Lesson" - as they don't sue me, lol !

Thing is, you're competing with them. It's got nothing to do with copyright or trademark. That is expensive, and time consuming. It's only necessary when you want to dominate that space, that is, without infringing their trademark or copyrights, or copyright works.

Let me put it this way: If I launched a TitanFall Forum, and there happens to be one, I would lose traffic due to that person having a higher ranking. In other words, even if you wanted to enter the same space as this person, even with the copyright/trademark in hand, he'd still beat you out. Google favors older sites, a more authoritative domain, and readily available content.

And by the way, I DID launch a TitanFall Forum called TitanFall 2 Forums. I had a tough time competing with the higher ranked, general TitanFall Forum. Because the domain authority is stronger, the domain's age is sending strong ranking signals to Google. So, I lost that battle. Instead, I found myself a new niche: TitanFall 2 Forums is popular on Facebook. Imagine my surprise.

 

[Jason76]

Trademarking would be a bit tough with DailyDrumLesson.com but also with a possible DailyDrumLesson.net, DailyDrumLesson.xyz etc.. as competitors.

It's got NOTHING to do with domains, dude. Let me put it this way: Did you know you could trademark "Call of Duty," and it would provide protection to domain squatting? Yup. If you tried today to buy "CallofDuty.BLOG" (notice the dot there...?) on namecheap, or another service - you'll get an error or prompt telling you that you can't register the domain. If you do succeed, you may be free for a while, but expect a lawsuit or lawsuits.

Well, that might be a good reason to get a trademark - to protect a site already made (with the name) from getting sued. BUt really, myself, I don't mind if other people use "The Drum Lesson" - as they don't sue me, lol !

Thing is, you're competing with them. It's got nothing to do with copyright or trademark. That is expensive, and time consuming. It's only necessary when you want to dominate that space, that is, without infringing their trademark or copyrights, or copyright works.

Let me put it this way: If I launched a TitanFall Forum, and there happens to be one, I would lose traffic due to that person having a higher ranking. In other words, even if you wanted to enter the same space as this person, even with the copyright/trademark in hand, he'd still beat you out. Google favors older sites, a more authoritative domain, and readily available content.

And by the way, I DID launch a TitanFall Forum called TitanFall 2 Forums. I had a tough time competing with the higher ranked, general TitanFall Forum. Because the domain authority is stronger, the domain's age is sending strong ranking signals to Google. So, I lost that battle. Instead, I found myself a new niche: TitanFall 2 Forums is popular on Facebook. Imagine my surprise.

Like I said, my goal with the trademark (Well, I only have a copyright now.) is protection from people - not to push people around.

 

[simonweb]

Another option to copyright is to protect your content under a Creative Commons license.

 

[Jason76]

Another option to copyright is to protect your content under a Creative Commons license.

I thought about that for my drum lesson stuff - but can't understand it. Seems too weak.

 

[Carlos X]

Another option to copyright is to protect your content under a Creative Commons license.

I thought about that for my drum lesson stuff - but can't understand it. Seems too weak.

Okay. Fine. I still think you're not getting the message though. "The Drum Lesson" is generic. You can't trademark it if you wanted to. Not everything is trademarkeable, what is what I've been saying since the beginning of this thread.

Sooo, do what you want, but I'd consult a lawyer if you really want to go this route, but your lawyer will tell you the same thing I'm telling you right now.

Find a good trademark lawyer that knows what he's talking about or doing. Otherwise, move along.

 

[Jason76]

Another option to copyright is to protect your content under a Creative Commons license.

I thought about that for my drum lesson stuff - but can't understand it. Seems too weak.

Okay. Fine. I still think you're not getting the message though. "The Drum Lesson" is generic. You can't trademark it if you wanted to. Not everything is trademarkeable, what is what I've been saying since the beginning of this thread.

Sooo, do what you want, but I'd consult a lawyer if you really want to go this route, but your lawyer will tell you the same thing I'm telling you right now.

Find a good trademark lawyer that knows what he's talking about or doing. Otherwise, move along.

Well, if "The Drum Lesson" cannot be trademarked for me - it can't be for other people!

 

[Jerlene]

If you spelt it differently you could trademark it. Throw a "z" in there or something. lol Two m's in drum? Something that makes it more unique, then you'll be able to trademark it.