What are copyright laws?

A quick definition could be: They are the powers that the creator of a literary, artistic, or scientific work has to claim their authorship and to prohibit or authorize any use of it by third parties.

The legislation of virtually all countries recognizes a series of rights over their creations for authors. Generally, thanks to these rights, the author can decide whether the work is distributed or not, and the conditions under which it can be used, disseminated, or modified.

The continental legal tradition recognizes two types of rights for authors: moral and exploitation rights.

Moral rights, with possible variations from one legislation to another, include the right to recognition of the authorship of the work by its creator, the right to decide whether or not the work is disclosed, the right to decide whether the work is disclosed under the author's name or a pseudonym, respect for the integrity of the work, the right to withdraw the work from commerce, the right of retraction or remorse, the right of access to the single copy, etc.

In many legislations, such as the Spanish one, moral rights are inalienable and non-renounceable.

Exploitation rights are rights with economic content and can be transferred or ceded, so the author must authorize the reproduction of the work or performance, its transformation, distribution, rebroadcasting, or public communication.

Is it mandatory to register a work?

The registration of works is voluntary. The intellectual property of a work belongs to the author by the mere fact of its creation and not by having registered it (Berne Convention). Registration is a means of proof that the author may or may not use as a protection measure, recording their authorship.

However, that is the general rule. Certain legislations require the registration of a work to access certain legal privileges, so, in case of doubt, it is recommended to consult a local intellectual property specialist lawyer for more information.

Is a typical system to protect authors’ rights specially for recently created works. In these situation a work is under the risk of being plagiarised by third parties that can take the work and distribute by certain ways before the creator does. In other cases, the registry is useful for preserving the state, content and rights expressly defined by the creator, so users can look up the registry to see the status of a certain work.

Except in some legislations, the registration of a work creates no rights, it is just a way to demonstrate and display them.

The author who after creating a work registers it, gets a registration testimony (a digital certificate at Safe Creative) saying that at a specific time the author claims authorship upon it and this can be shown through the copy left in deposit.

This way the author when starts to distribute copies, models or first copies of the work, if somebody else tried to claim the authorship of it, the real author will have an earlier in time proof that says he/she is the author.

Another service for additional protection, and with a preventive and deterrent effect is to include, in any distribution or display of the work, the label of Safe Creative’s registered works we provide along with each registration; this will state that the author already has a protection mechanism against plagiarism.

Safe Creative is based on the technology to generate evidence of authorship as solid as economic and comfortable. However, to achieve the best evidence it is necessary to have the best information. ​​Therefore the strength of a registration depends very much on the quality of the information each user provides.

In addition to the file representing the work to be of sufficient quality to identify the work upon which to build the evidence, it is essential that user’s personal data is complete, accurate and up to date.

If we do not put the full name or last name, only use initials, there are typos or information is out of date, future certificates, taking the default information available at the time of registration, will also be generated incomplete and perhaps even wrong. This may involve a number of problems especially if you want to use the evidence authorship independently from Safe Creative.

So the more and better information you fill in, the better it will be to make the most out of the evidence generated in Safe Creative. So remember to fill out with the best and accurate information. Those who already have done it, periodically verify that the email, your address and any other information is perfectly updated and without errors.

To enter or verify the existing information, go to “My Account” “Personal Data”.

In order for your identity to appear as "Verified by Safe Creative" you can request a verification process.

First you will need to fill all the requested data: First and last name, country, mobile phoe to which we can send a SMS for confirmation, national ID number, postal address, city or town and zip code. 

Also you need to provide two photographs.

1.- That of an official identity document (see below: valid documents). 
2.- Your own photograph showing your identity document.

The photograph of the identity document must be of sufficient quality and resolution to be legible.

In the photograph showing the identity document, your face must appear without hats or accessories that hinder recognition and with sufficient lighting and sharpness.

The name and surname of your user account must match exactly with the name and surname on your ID card. If there is any difference between your current registration, you can adjust them during the identity verification process.

After filling all the data you will receive a SMS with a code for your phone verification. Write it in the page and hit "Verify code".

Now you can upload the images of your national ID document and of you holding it. 

Our staff will check all the information and will get back to you confirming or letting you know if you need to restart the process again.

Valid official identity documents.

The following identity documents are recognized, as long as they are the official ones of your country and include a photograph.

• DNI or Passport
• Voter's registration card
• Driver's license
• Official documentation of name change Tribal identification or Native American Indian credentials
• Visa, residency permit or immigration papers

Observations

Identification document must be valid (do not send expired documents);
Your identification document must be a color copy;
It must show your photograph, full name, date of birth, a signature and document number;
The image must be of sufficient quality to be legible and show all four edges of the document.
It must be sent in *.jpg, *.jpeg, *.bmp, *.gif, *.png or *.pdf file format.

If it is a passport it must be open on the page with your photo and passport number.

What are Copyright, Copyleft, and Creative Commons?

Copyright is a model of intellectual property that protects the author by giving them exclusive rights to decide how their work is used, distributed, or modified. Traditionally, this model has been known as "all rights reserved," restricting the reproduction, distribution, and modification of the work without the express permission of the rights holder.

Copyleft is a response to the digital age and the ease of sharing works over the Internet. It is a form of licensing that allows, and even encourages, the modification and distribution of the work, including for commercial purposes, as long as derived works are offered under the same freedom terms as the original work. Free software was a pioneer in adopting this approach.

Creative Commons offers an open licensing system, situated between traditional copyright and copyleft, allowing authors to reserve some rights while releasing others under certain conditions. This system facilitates the distribution, copying, and modification of creative works, providing different types of licenses based on the rights the author wishes to keep or share.

Safe Creative, on the other hand, is an intellectual property registry that provides proof of authorship and a public information point. It is not a licensing system, but a complement for managing and protecting copyright in the digital age.

Basic Licenses of Creative Commons:

Creative Commons offers several licenses, which can be summarized in a table to quickly understand what rights are reserved or released:

• Attribution (BY): Requires crediting the original author.
• Non-Commercial (NC): Prohibits commercial use of the work.
• No Derivative Works (ND): Does not allow the original work to be modified.
• Share Alike (SA): Derived works must be distributed under an identical license to the original work.

These concepts and licenses reflect the evolution of copyright in the digital environment, offering creators flexibility in sharing their works while protecting their rights appropriately according to their preferences.

What should we do if we find any our contents allegedly plagiarized or otherwise illegally used?

The first thing is to keep the cool. The worst thing we can do is to act impulsively or driven by anger. Take a deep breath, relax and maybe wait 24 hours before doing anything. If you already have your work registered with Safe Creative, you have much of the way covered. That said there are several things you should do, but ultimately it all depends on the specific circumstances of each situation.

1 .- The ideal is to have a lawyer to advise you. This is the basic principle that we should always observe. While many times by one or another reason we do not have one, a good copyright lawyer, is the best guarantee for any initiative to succeed, avoid errors and waste time. However there are other factors to consider.

2 .- Evaluate the situation. Coldly analyze what do you want to happen. Do we want the content to be removed? Maybe to get some sort of compensation? Do we have been plagiarized by a large multinational or perhaps it’s been just a little blog that nearly nobody reads? Is it worth getting into legal disputes for a paragraph, or a complete ebook of us has been copied and is being sold out there without even proper attribution? We must respond these questions and from the answers we will know what to do next.

3 .- Friendly solution. This is something you really have to think about, but in most cases the plagiarism and in general any misuse happen because of a simple confusion or not malicious mistake, like the sheer ignorance that comes from the belief that what is on the Internet, for instance, is free to use in whatever way one might want. Many times you can solve everything with a friendly approach that saves troubles to all. Depending on the analysis of the situation we might try to prove a friendly approach to solve the problem. In a significant percentage of cases sending a friendly email to remove the content, properly credit or respect the public license solves the problem. If despite this approach the issue is not settled, there are more things you can do.

4 .- Collect your evidence of authorship. If you haven’t already done so, download from Safe Creative your registration certificate and the registered content. You might give this proofs to you lawyer. If your lawyer happens to need more technical information about the strength of the evidence, he or she may contact us. We will be happy to provide any required documentation.

5 .- Collect proof of the alleged illegal use. Your attorney will take appropriate measures to ensure the evidence of the alleged offence doesn’t disappear. Note that if you start a process and then the site that has allegedly plagiarized your work happens to “disappear” you might find yourself in the situation of not being able to show that your content has been illegally used. You might use Safe Stamper and its broad range of features to gather the best legal online evidence you might need.

6 .- Send “cease and desist” letter. One option you have, if you like to try in case it might work, is to send a “cease and desist” request certified notice from Safe Creative. Go to “Registrations”, find your work, clic on it and go the "Services" menú of the work and select “Incidences” You will need the email address of the person who allegedly illegally used your content. Fill in the fields to send the notification. You can keep track of the incident and see if the person has agreed to your request or not.

7 .- Initiate legal action. If the delivery of the “cease and desist” request does not change the alleged plagiarist attitude or even if he or she does, you still can take legal action, yes, always advised and guided by a good lawyer.

8.- Infringements in social networks. If the violation occurs in a social network or service provider such as Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Mercadolibre, etc. There are several important considerations to keep in mind. As these services usually have specific mechanisms to initiate claims for copyright infringement, we recommend studying them carefully before doing anything:

 -Normally, to initiate a claim, they only ask that the user identify her of himself and declare her or himself as the owner of the rights of the works, accepting the paragraph they propose or writing, literally, such a text. 

- It is usually necessary to provide the specific links, on the infringing page, where the contents on which your rights are being violated appear. 

- They do not usually request at that time for any evidence or link of the registered works to be provided. In any case, if you wish, you can write in the form of text that “the works are registered in the copyright certification registry of Safe Creative”. There is no need to provide links to the records unless expressly requested by the platform to initiate the claim. 

- Once the process has begun, you may be asked, if the other party reaffirms itself, to provide proofs of authorship. If necessary, it is better to send the rights declaration registration certificate. Optionally, if requested, you can send the registration certificates along with the original of the work. On rare occasions you may be asked to send links to the public registration pages. 

- If the platform requests more information about Safe Creative registration, they will usually contact us directly. If they ask you to contact us, write us to provide them with a direct access. 

Too often there are people who will not or can not afford a lawyer. If this is the case, and the letter of incidence has not taken effect, you might want to bring out the case -without defamation or insult- using the tools the Internet gives you for the dissemination of information.

Why can't I register an idea, a project, or a patent in Safe Creative?

Safe Creative is not suitable for registering ideas, social or economic projects, events, artistic techniques, learning methods, festivals, concepts, nor patents or inventions. "Ideas" do not generate copyright according to laws and international agreements, and only certain types of "projects" like architectural plans can be protected by copyright. To register trademarks, trade names, patents, inventions, or utility models, it is necessary to go to the patent and trademark offices in the corresponding geographic region where protection is sought.

What does the basic intellectual property assistance service of Safe Creative involve?

This service is designed to answer general questions on topics related to copyright and copyright laws, aiming to guide users and not replace the advice that a lawyer can provide.

It does not include the review or drafting of claims, lawsuits, complaints, contracts, reports and opinions, or other documents, actions, or administrative or judicial procedures.

To make a consultation, access the "Consultation" menu found in the "services" section within your account.

Practical Validity of Safe Creative's Registrations in Mexico

The effectiveness of a copyright registration lies in its date of creation. To prevent contradictions with prior evidence, it should be registered as soon as possible after the work is completed. Safe Creative allows even evidence from stages prior to the completion of the work to be registered. If the registration is made before the work is known to third parties, and it cannot be refuted by previous evidence, Safe Creative ensures that the registered date and information cannot be altered, thus being solid technological evidence, admissible in any jurisdiction.

Legal Validity of Safe Creative's Registrations in Mexico

Safe Creative's registrations are technological evidence composed of the file that includes the registered work, along with the cryptographic hashes that ensure its integrity and a double time-stamp that determines the moment of registration.

These are legally valid evidence, as recognized by the Federal Code of Civil Procedures (CFPC) in its Article 79, which indicates that the judge can make use of any object or document, whether it belongs to the parties or a third party. Additionally, in its Article 87, it establishes that the court must accept the evidence presented by the parties, as long as they are recognized by the law.

What types of work can be registered?

The types of work that can be protected by copyright range from novels, melodies, paintings, songs, statues, and movies to software, databases, advertisements, cartographic plans, and technical drawings. See more categories of works.

How long do copyrights last in Mexico?

In accordance with the laws of Mexico, as well as the international agreements to which the country adheres, the proprietary right lasts throughout the life of the author, and remains in force for 100 years after their death. This legal framework ensures that works can continue to be protected and that the benefits derived from their exploitation can benefit their heirs. In cases where the work is the result of co-authorship, the period of protection will begin to be counted from the death of the last co-author. This provision ensures that all collaborators in a joint work receive equal protection. Learn more about copyright.

 Although copyright is automatically granted at the moment the work is created in a tangible form, the United States has a system whereby creators can - and in some cases must - register their works with the United States Copyright Office. This registration is voluntary, but it provides significant advantages.

Copyright registration in the U.S. is important for several reasons. First, to file a lawsuit for copyright infringement in the U.S., the work must be registered. Second, if you register your work within a certain timeframe after its creation, and the work is infringed upon after this registration, you may be eligible for statutory damages of $150,000 and recovery of legal costs and attorney's fees. 

While the Berne Convention, which the U.S. is a part of, does not require registration for copyright protection, the U.S. legal system has maintained this requirement for certain aspects of copyright protection and enforcement, which sets it apart from many other countries.

It is for this reason that Safe Creative has included a wizard to send registered works in our platform to the US Copyright Office. The submission is voluntary and has a cost independent of the subscription (US government fees + management): https://www.safecreative.org/faq/the-u-s-copyright-office-registration.

What are the reasons for using Safe Creative's copyright registration in the UK?

In the UK, there's no need for an application to obtain copyrights. The law automatically grants you copyright upon the creation of your artistic or literary piece. However, if it becomes necessary to assert and uphold your rights, you'll need to provide evidence of having created a work at a specific time in a particular form. Hence, technological evidence can be utilized in the UK and all other countries that are signatories to the Berne Convention, an approach recognized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Proof of authorship leverages technology to identify the work using three unique cryptographic fingerprints, along with its registration date and time marked by a certified time stamp. This leads to a daily audit process on the blockchain.
Registration is a seamless, online process that operates 24/7 and accepts any file format that enables the work to be identified.

The proofs generated are enduring and will forever be valid.

What technology do we use to create your proofs

The assurance of the registration date and time is of the highest order. It relies on a certified time stamp given by a certification authority, which is technically and administratively independent from Safe Creative, as per the eIDAS Regulation 910 2014. This is redundantly applied to enhance reliability.

The immutability of the registered information is assured by three distinct hashes obtained from the registered file.

These assurances are further strengthened by a daily audit process on the Ethereum blockchain for all documents. This provides additional redundant technical validity in all countries that are signatories to the Berne Convention.

What types of works can I register at Safe Creative?

All creations falling under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works are safeguarded by copyright law, which includes:

• Written content: This could be articles, stories, novels, essays, blog posts, web pages, and more.
• Audiovisual and stage productions: This category includes full-length films, animations, theatrical plays, short films, among others.
• Musical creations: This encompasses musical compositions, sound recordings, musical notation, and audio art.
• Artistic creations: This refers to works such as drawings, paintings, designs, 3D models, sculptures, prints, comics, photographs, and more.
• Design projects: This covers things like engineering or architectural plans, models, and so on.
• Computer programs and databases: Certain legislations protect source code (in any form of expression), user manuals, technical documentation, graphics, or summaries.

How long do registration proofs last?

The technological evidence produced upon registering is permanent.

The usage of three cryptographic hashes (SHA1, SHA-256, and SHA-512) to identify the work, coupled with two digital timestamps also recorded on the Ethereum blockchain, ensures their unending validity.

Post-registration of a work, you're able to download all proof that you can employ to prove your authorship and any other registered rights, irrespective of whether you continue to use Safe Creative services in the future.