Copyright Infringement by April Brown

I would like to take a moment to write about copyright…what it is, why it is important, and why it should be respected.

Wikipedia defines copyright as: Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it…Generally, it is “the right to copy”, but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other, related rights. It is an intellectual property form (like the patent, the trademark, and the trade secret) applicable to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete.

Sixteen years ago, I wasn’t an author.  I was working in the corporate world.  I then wrote an inspiration titled:  The Dash, which subsequently changed my career path and ultimately, my life. At the time, I had a boss who convinced me (thankfully) to register my copyright in The Dash with the Library of Congress.  I did, and that has assisted me legally in protecting the value and integrity of my work for all these years.   Naive and unsuspecting, I found out the hard way how unscrupulous people can be.  At times, this has made it hard to stay inspired and to continue to inspire others the best way I know how…through my words. Read more