All Entries Tagged With: "Photographs"

The Idea / Expression Dichotomy

By Matthew B. Harrison

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –– Good talk radio hosts draw upon multiple sources for material. News, media, pop culture and their own lives and interests are standard sources for talking points. In today’s digital world two pressing legal questions should be on your mind:

1) How difficult is it to infringe upon someone’s copyright when borrowing a concept, the goodwill, or even actual pieces from someone else’s work?

2) How difficult is it to protect your own work from having others use too much?
Copyright protection is only available for the expression of ideas and not the ideas themselves. This is known as the idea/expression dichotomy.

The “idea” is to, say, do a show on conservative political issues. The idea, furthermore, is to spin (or “position”) an issue in a particular way as to highlight a thought-provoking point. The protectable “expression” is the recording of the segment in which you make the point. While you may have been the first person to make such a point, only your exact expression is protected and other –– perhaps not as talented –– hosts can run with the idea their own way as they see fit.

Understanding Audio Content Ownership Rights

by Matthew B. Harrison, Esq.
Harrison Legal Group

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –– Understanding ownership rights of audio content is one of the more common issues to cross my desk. While most of the information that exists on the topic, including court cases and their analysis, is centered on music-based audio, the rules can be similarly applied to both spoken- or music-based content. Therefore, this article will examine the application of such rules to music and aptly apply them to spoken-word content.

A work made for hire is defined as a work created by an employee within the scope of the employee’s employment. A work made for hire can also be created by a contractual agreement between two parties.