Many different creators, businesses, and consumers often ask the question, “Does California have copyright laws?” It’s an important question to continue to ask in 2024 for anyone who is creating or using intellectual property. The nuances of this law can help protect these individuals’ unique works of art while also keeping them out of trouble with copyright law at both the state and federal levels.
Understanding Federal Copyright Law
The United States government oversees federal copyright law, which is specifically noted in Title 17 of the U.S. Code. It grants different creators, like authors and artists, exclusive rights over any original work they create. This allows these individuals to control how their custom work is used, distributed, and reproduced in the public eye.
California’s Role in Intellectual Property Protection
The state of California extends federal protections by developing its own laws specific to intellectual property protection. California will not create a separate copyright from what is done at the federal level, but its own state guidelines offer new protections that address certain gaps in the federal law. This is especially true with the trending issues of royalties, trade secrets, unfair competition, and the right of publicity.
California Resale Royalty Act
One of the most significant examples of California-specific intellectual property protection is the resale royalty act. This law allows visual artists to receive royalty payments when their work is resold to other individuals. In general, these artists will receive a 5% royalty cut as long as the work is being resold for profit and the sale takes place within California.
Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition
The California Uniform Trade Secrets Act, otherwise referred to as “CUTSA,” was designed to protect confidential business information from being misused by other individuals. This includes any specific product formulas, business practices, or a process that gives a business a competitive edge in the marketplace. For example, if another company is found guilty of unlawfully acquiring trade secrets, the original company can take legal action.
Rights of Publicity in California
To extend the federal copyright law that does not allow another person to use someone’s personal identity, California has extended this protection with its own right of publicity law. The extra protections are designed to prevent individuals from the unauthorized commercial use of their name and other personal attributes. For example, this gives celebrities the right to sue another organization if their image was used without their permission in an advertisement.
Preemption of State Law by Federal Copyright Law
California recognizes that federal copyright law often preempts state laws anytime there is a circumstance where the laws overlap. This is stated in Title 17 U.S.C. § 301, making it clear that all state laws that offer equal rights and protections to the same individuals under federal copyright law are deemed preempted. This doesn’t change anything pertaining to California laws that protect different interests. A copyright attorney can help differentiate between the two.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Another federal law is highly relevant to how California conducts business in today’s digital age. It’s called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which was designed by the federal government to address copyright infringement on digital communications. This framework gives attorneys guidelines on how to handle online copyright violations, including a provision that allows them to issue a notice to violators to take down specific material.
Understanding the ins and outs of these federal and state-specific copyright laws is important for California creators and businesses if they want to fully protect the intellectual property that makes them unique. California offers a number of extra protections outside of federal law that make creating work in the state even safer from bad-faith actors trying to steal other original pieces of material.
FAQs
Q: What Is the Penalty for Copyright Infringement in California?
A: The penalty for copyright infringement in California can be both civil and criminal. Some of the more common civil penalties include paying damages to the individual whose work was stolen. This could be hundreds or even thousands of dollars owed to that individual for having their work infringed upon. Criminal charges are for more serious cases, which could include large fines or imprisonment.
Q: Can You Use Copyright Without Permission?
A: You generally are not allowed to use any type of copyrighted material unless you have explicit permission from the owner of that work. However, the fair use doctrine could introduce an exception to this rule in some cases. Exceptions can exist for the limited use of copyrighted material by others who have platforms where they criticize or commentate on the work of others. The fair use doctrine is leveraged a fair amount for activities like news reporting or personal research.
Q: What Is Exempt from Copyright Law?
A: There are certain types of work that are not eligible for copyright protection. Just having an idea or general procedure for getting something done would not qualify. It is how these ideas are expressed that allows people to secure copyright protections. Also, any work that has been entered into the public domain is exempt from these protections. This can happen when someone has passed away or has specifically relinquished their ownership rights.
Q: What Are the Different Types of Works Protected by Copyright?
A: There are many different pieces of original work that qualify for copyright protection, including various pieces of literary work, music, plays, films, and digital content like a company’s website or software they created. The most important factor when looking to copyright something is to ensure the work is a tangible medium of expression. It must exist either physically or digitally to be of enough substance to be protected under copyright regulations.
Contact The Myers Law Group Today
If you are an individual or business looking for copyright assistance in any legal context, the team at The Myers Law Group is the group of legal professionals you are looking for. We have a strong understanding of both federal and California state protections in this legal discipline, giving us the knowledge we need to help protect the work that is most important to you. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.