Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1399900
D E PA R T M E N T 23 KEYFRAME FALL 2021 23 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THE NUANCES OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ARE COMPLEX AND EVER- CHANGING, BUT THERE ARE SOME BASICS FOR HANDLING ORIGINAL WORK THAT EVERY CREATIVE PERSON OUGHT TO KNOW. READ ON FOR EXPERT ADVICE TO PLAY IT SAFE WITH YOUR IP AND OTHERS'. GETTING STARTED Copyright protections give authors and artists control over how their work is used. While you cannot attain a copyright for ideas, titles, and concepts, you can for any specific creative expression that you have put in tangible form. All our experts stress from the start that any artist who creates work they believe has value would be shrewd to familiarize themselves with basic copyright concepts. "It's important," says Kattwinkel, "because if you're not aware of how copyright law works in this country, you can lose control of your work really easily, and other people can take it and do what they want with it … whether or not they give you credit or pay you for it." Thomas A. Crowell, Esq. is a partner at New York-based LaneCrowell LLP, an educator, and author of The Pocket Lawyer for Comic Book Creators. He also writes stories for Waxwork Comics. Linda Joy Kattwinkel, Esq. is an attorney for San Francisco-based Owen, Wickersham & Erickson. Author of the Legalities column for AIGA San Francisco, she has been representing artists for more than 25 years. She is also a visual artist. Aaron Moss is chair of the litiga- tion department at L.A.-based Greenberg Glusker and the founder of the Copyright Lately website and blog. He is also an amateur concert photographer. THE EXPERTS