About Copyrights

Copyright Protections and Your Artocrats Submission

At Artocrats we respect the rights of artists and work hard to create a positive atmosphere for artists to submit and display their work. We expect our members to demonstrate an equal amount of respect. In order to do this effectively, it is important that everyone using this site be aware of the implications of copyright law.

Please understand that the following document is provided for informational purposes only. The availability of this document should not be construed as rendering legal or other professional advice, and this document is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. If you require legal advice, you should seek the services of a qualified attorney.

What is copyright?

From the US Copyright Office, a "Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works."

What is Copyright Infringement?

How do I know if something is Copyrighted?

According to the US Copyright website, for any Artwork copyright "registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created." While an artwork does have to be registered in order to bring a lawsuit for infringement, you can safely assume that anyone else's creative work is protected under law. An artwork is not required to have a copyright statement printed on or near it to be considered copyrighted, so do not assume that the work is unprotected because you cannot see a written notice.

How Can I Avoid Infringing on Someone's Copyright?

The most reliable way to avoid infringing on the rights of another artist is to use your ability to create your own completely original work. When used in discussing copyright protection, "original" refers to work created without referencing or deliberately copying anyone else's work during the process. Ensure that all parts of your work are your own original creations. If you have used materials which are owned by other people or companies make certain that you have obtained proper permission or licensing for the use before you place your work online. If you must use someone else's copyrighted work, get written permission.

How do I get permission to use somebody else's work?

Again from the US Copyright website, "You can ask for it. If you know who the copyright owner is, you may contact the owner directly. If you are not certain about the ownership or have other related questions, you may wish to request that the Copyright Office conduct a search of its records or you may search yourself."

How can I find out who owns a copyright?

The US Copyright Office can provide you with the information through a search of registrations, renewals, and recorded transfers of ownership. Upon request, their staff will search their records at the statutory rate of $150 for each hour. There is no fee if you conduct a search in person at the Copyright Office. Copyright registrations made and documents recorded from 1978 to date are available for searching online.

What Happens When You Submit Infringing Works to Artocrats?

If we at Artocrats become aware that a submission infringes upon any copyright of any artist, company, or other entity it will be immediately deleted. This is a legal requirement which we will fulfill immediately. You will not receive an advanced warning and you will not be given an opportunity to correct the issue. If you believe that one of your submissions was removed in error you may contact us to file a counter notice. A member of our staff will be made available to you so that the situation can be properly resolved. If you are found to have repeatedly posted infringing content your account will be suspended, and your account may be deactivated. If you are found to be deliberately misrepresenting the copyrighted work of another as your own your account will be immediately deactivated.

What if a work on the Artocrats site infringes upon my copyright?

Any copyright owner following the procedures in this Copyright Policy can require Artocrats to remove his or her copyrighted content at any time. If you believe that a submission on Artocrats infringes upon your copyright you may either report the submission using our internal reporting system or send us a copyright notice via email. A member of staff will review your notice and resolve the situation.

What about "Fair Use" protections?

"Fair Use" is the notion that some public and private uses of copyrighted works do not require the permission of a copyright owner. These circumstances are very limited, complex to analyze under the law, and require the help of expert advice from a lawyer. We recommend you talk to your own lawyer if you want to know more about fair use as it applies to the work you are doing. If it is determined that your useage is not "Fair Use", you may be liable for serious monetary damages. To learn more about fair use you can go here, here, and here.

What about Creative Commons protections?

According to CreativeCommons.org, a Creative Commons copyright "provides free tools that let authors, scientists, artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry. You can use CC to change your copyright terms from "All Rights Reserved" to "Some Rights Reserved." Because each artist is able to choose what rights they retain, you should consult your lawyer to know whether or not your use of a Creative Commons work is allowed under the specific copyright related to that work. This is especially important, as not all Creative Commons allowances give you the right to use the work commercially. Below is brief explanation of the four primary types of Creative Commons protections:

Attribution: You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work — and derivative works based upon it — but only if they give credit the way you request.

Share Alike: You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.

Noncommercial: You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work — and derivative works based upon it — but for noncommercial purposes only.

No Derivative Works: You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.

If Artocrats takes my work down am I protected from a lawsuit?

No. Even if Artocrats removes an infringing work from our site, you may still be responsible for significant monetary damages if the copyright owner decides to file a lawsuit against you. In the event a copyright owner does file suit against you, Artocrats will in no way arbitrate on your behalf or be considered to be party to your infringement.

Notification of Copyright Infringement

This section contains the formal requirements of the Copyright Act with respect to the rights of copyright owners whose content appears on Artocrats without authorization.

To file a copyright infringement notification with Artocrats, the copyright owner or an agent acting on their behalf will need to send a written communication that includes substantially the following:

1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site.

3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material. In this regard please provide titles of works and URLs when you identify the location of the material.

4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.

5. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, their agent, or the law.

6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Counter-Notification

If you want to send Artocrats a counter notice, please contact us by email at help@Artocrats.com for assistance and instructions.

Under Section 512(f) of the Copyright Act, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification may be subject to liability. Please consult the Terms of Use in which we explain that you may be removed from the site if you are a repeat infringer or if you violate Artocrats's policies.