Put some monster in your socks! I Heart Sock Monsters is a collaboration between 3 friends, Colleen, Angie and Lindsey.We all like being crafty, finding new fun socks, eating yummy vegan food, finding other crafters and making people smile. Thanks for visiting us!
Sock Monsters are getting a make-over and will be back soon!
In the meantime, read up on this important and useful information on copyright law:What is "copyright"?
Under the United States Copyright Act found at Title 17 of the U.S. Code, copyright is a form of protection provided by law to the creators of original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, granting the author certain exclusive rights.
What types of creative work does copyright protect?
Copyright protects works such as poetry, movies, CD-ROMs, video games, videos, plays, paintings, sheet music, recorded music performances, novels, software code, sculptures, photographs, choreography and architectural designs.
To qualify for copyright protection, a work must be "fixed in a tangible medium of expression." This means that the work must exist in some physical form for at least some period of time, no matter how brief. Virtually any form of expression will qualify as a tangible medium, including a computer's random access memory (RAM), the recording media that capture all radio and television broadcasts, and the scribbled notes on the back of an envelope that contain the basis for an impromptu speech.
In addition, the work must be original -- that is, independently created by the author. It doesn't matter if an author's creation is similar to existing works, or even if it is arguably lacking in quality, ingenuity or aesthetic merit. So long as the author toils without copying from someone else, the results are protected by copyright.
Finally, to receive copyright protection, a work must be the result of at least some creative effort on the part of its author. There is no hard and fast rule as to how much creativity is enough. As one example, a work must be more creative than a telephone book's white pages, which involve a straightforward alphabetical listing of telephone numbers rather than a creative selection of listings.
4. Copyright Does Not Protect Certain Works
There are some things that copyright law will not protect. Copyright will not protect the titles of a book or movie, nor will it protect short phrases such as "Make my day." Copyright protection also doesn't cover facts, ideas or theories. These things are free for all to use without authorization.
Can I copyright my idea; band name; slogan; title?
No. Among the categories of material generally not eligible for copyright protection are:
Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been recorded, or improvisational performances that have not been written or recorded);
Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic lettering, or coloring; listings of ingredients;
Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration;
Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents).
Useful Articles
A “useful article†is an object having an intrinsic utilitar¡an function that is not merely to portray the appearance of the article or to convey information. Examples are clothing, furniture, machinery, dinnerware, and lighting fixtures. An article that is normally part of a useful article may itself be a useful article, for example, an ornamental wheel cover on a vehicle.
Copyright does not protect the mechanical or utilitarian aspects of such works of craftsmanship. It may, however, protect any pictorial, graphic, or sculptural authorship that can be identified separately from the utilitarian aspects of an object. Thus, a useful article may have both copyrightable and uncopyrightable features. For example, a carving on the back of a chair or a floral relief design on silver flatware could be protected by copyright, but the design of the chair or flatware itself could not.
Other Stuff!!!
Buttons are $1 each (that includes shipping and handling!) just send us a message and we'll set up payment! Colors: pink, goldenrod, lime, light blue, red (not pictured), light purple (not pictured), light pink (not pictured) and yellow (not pictured)! Check out our store on CafePress.com! We've got shirts, bags and lots of other fun stuff! Just click the above picture to get to our merch store!
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