After the recent issue we've been having with a site taking our works and using them as their own I decided to see what, atleast, are my local copyright laws and found that they are very strict.

Michigan Copyright Laws

Posted by James
A lot of people wonder what the deal is with Michigan Copyright Laws and making copies. In a nutshell, the right to prepare copies—to put the work in some sort of fixed form—is one of the most basic rights protected by Michigan Copyright Laws.

Before we go any further, let’s come up with a solid definition of “copy.” According to copyright law, a copy is a physical form in which a work is retained. The amount of time the work is retained doesn’t play into the equation. It can be brief, or it can be very long.

Some examples of copies would be photo copies, tape recordings, carbon copies, manuscripts, printings, molds, computer disks, diskettes, videotapes, videodiscs, and CD-ROMs.

It’s also worth knowing that even putting material into RAM for a short period of time has been considered copying, and may be an infringement under the Copyright Act.

Speaking of the Copyright Act, it defines copies as “material objects, other than phonorecords, in which a work is fixed by any method now known or later developed, and from which the work can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.”

Under Michigan Copyright Laws, copyrights are granted for original creative expressions produced by authors, artists, designers, composers, and other types of creative people. One thing that is important to understand is that Michigan Copyright Laws do not protect ideas and facts. But they do protect the way in which ideas and facts are expressed.

You should know that Michigan Copyright Laws don’t protect a copyright owner from being infringed upon. What they do allow, however, is for the owner to bring a suit against the trespasser.

I hope this answers some of your questions regarding Michigan Copyright Laws.

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It seems that the laws do vary from state to state and country to country; but I think this site might give some others some insite into what is protected for them when it comes to artwork.