Copyright and Contracts
Copyright and Contracts This week in our CIU class we discussed how copyright is used and what its purpose is. We also discussed the use of contracts between a client [and freelancers] or between an employee and employer in the creative industry, why contracts exist and how they may be manipulated. (2016) Copyright By definition copyright is “a form of intellectual property that protects the original expression of ideas. It enables creators to manage how their content is used.” (Agency, 2016.) To put this in layman’s terms it basically means when you create any piece of content you own the rights it, and you choose how you want to distribute that content. The idea of this is to protect creatives and content creators from other people taking your work and selling it as their own. (2016) While the intentions of this may be a good thing there are many individuals or companies that will try to exploit or take advantage of this copyright system. For example some larger creative companies will claim copyright over common words or phrases, then target smaller companies that use said words or phrases. A recent example of this is Microsoft targeting the developers of the upcoming game “No Man’s Sky” for using the word sky in their title. “Apparently No Man’s Sky Developer Hello Games had some trouble with the “sky” word within the title of the game. Luckily, after three years, that issue has been solved as revealed by Creative Director Sean Murray on Twitter:” (Nelva, 2016) Contracts “A contract is a legally binding or valid agreement between two parties.” (“What is a contract? – the law handbook,” 2015). Contracts are used to state terms of an agreement between two parties. Some creative companies may try to take advantage or of you via the use of contracts. For example you could be working in an animation or game company and you may be asked to sign a contract which states anything you create even if is completely unrelated is owned by the said company. So basicly if you have a side project that you’re working on in your spare time, your employer could easily take that from you and claim it as theirs. So it’s always best to thoroughly read through any contract you’re given. Some networking companies may try and lock you in on a contract that infinitely renews itself or takes more of your earnings for what it is worth. The Machinima network is infamous with this and embedded below is one of many videos of ex-Machinima clients talking about their experience with them: (Pyrocynical, 2015) There are many different aspects to take into consideration when forming a contract with a client. Some important things to clearly state are any and all deadlines, when/how the creator gets paid, confidentiality, the quality or standard of the work ect. On the other side of the table References Retrieved June 20, 2016b, from http://www.tmlawworldwide.com/images/header-copy.jpgAgency, & 2016, contributors. (2016, May 8). About copyright – copyright agency Retrieved from http://copyright.com.au/about-copyright/ Retrieved June 20, 2016, from http://musicians4freedom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/WMG-block-500×303.jpg Nelva, G. (2016, June 17). No man’s sky developers settle “Secret stupid legal Nonsense” over “Sky” word in the name. Retrieved June 20, 2016, from http://www.dualshockers.com/2016/06/17/no-mans-sky-developers-settle-secret-stupid-legal-nonsense-over-sky-word-in-the-name/ Murray, S. (2016b, June 17). Yay! We finally settled with sky (they own the word “sky”). We can call our game no man’s sky. 3 years of secret stupid legal nonsense over Retrieved from https://twitter.com/NoMansSky/status/743928033942315009Murray, S. (2016, June 17). This is the same folks who made Microsoft change Skydrive to Onedrive… So it was pretty serious Retrieved from https://twitter.com/NoMansSky/status/743956071337828352 What is a contract? – the law handbook. (2015, May 7). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from 2015, http://www.lawhandbook.org.au/07_01_01_what_is_a_contract/ Pyrocynical (2015, December 16). The truth about Machinima Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHP7a_x4z88
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