USA Copyright Laws for Aspiring Course Creators and Artists

**This course does not beat about the bush.**  This is a distillation of the important copyright law information that anyone should have, either for a copyright protection or for a defense to a copyright infringement claim.

If you are an online course creator, author, artist, designer or publisher; you need to protect not only yourself from any copyright claim made against you but also to protect the work that you have created on the basis of your specialist knowledge, unique experiences gained over the years and sheer hard work.  The course contains fundamental information about the copyright law principles which law students and entrepreneurs may also find very useful.

The possibility of copyright litigation is a nightmare for any author.  With the increasing and widespread availability of information and resources, course authors and creators may find themselves in hot waters even for minor copyright infringements.  There are not only civil but also criminal implications for failure to adhere to the copyright laws.

Generally, it does not matter whether you are aware of the actual copyright owners and whether the owners have asserted their rights formally under the copyright law in relation to any piece of work that you may have come across.  The liability for the breach of copyright laws is usually strict.  This means it does not matter if the mistake on your part is entirely innocent.  Findings of copyright infringements against you as an author may have severe and negative consequences for your career, reputation, and your personal life.

On the other hand, you also need to protect your work from unscrupulous writers and authors who may simply steal your idea or work and present as their own with some changes.  This may cost you dearly in respect of your revenues, the impact of infringement on your originality as the learners may not go out of their way to find out who the certain work belongs to.

The course will inform you about the pitfalls that you need to watch out when embarking on the journey of developing your online courses.  

This course will also guide you as to what steps you need to take in order to make sure that you are not entering the grey areas of possible copyright infringements, leaving yourself prone to civil litigation or criminal penalties.

This course is intended for anyone who has already published online courses or thinking of creating one.  This course may prompt you to make amendments to your existing courses and will guide you how to avoid any copyright issues.

Please note that the guidelines in this course are for information purposes only.  It is general in nature and is presented with the understanding that I am not carrying out any professional legal or non-legal services to the learners of this course or work.  If you are facing any specific or individual challenges or issues, you are strongly advised to seek professional help from a professionally qualified person according to your specific and individual needs and requirements.

Photos Courtesy: Pixabay (Creative Commons)