Copyright is a type of intellectual property. It gives its owner the right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform creative work.
Copyright grants two types of rights: economic and moral.
Economic and moral rights
Economic rights
- Guarantee control over the work.
- Guarantee remuneration for work through selling or licensing.
- They are transferable.
Moral rights
- Right of attribution - the right to claim the authorship.
- Right of integrity - the right to refuse the modification of the work.
- They are non-transferable.
Useme tip: In EU law, as an author, you always have the moral right to the work. They are non-transferable. You can’t pass them on to another person in any way.
What else should you know about copyright?
You can transfer the economic rights of a unique and original work. You can do it under a license or a protocol.
A license transfer
- You can still profit financially from your work.
- You transfer the rights for a period of time.
- All it needs is an online confirmation.
- You can sell the work to another client under a license.
A protocol transfer
- You give up the ability to profit from your work.
- You transfer the rights indefinitely.
- You need to print, fill in, and scan additional documents.
Should I transfer the rights?
When you create something unlikely to be used by another person, such as a logo, it’s a good idea to transfer it to copyright. However, when you sell something like software that you could sell again to another client, think twice before parting with your economic rights.