Virtually all companies are both creators of copyrightable and users of copyrighted works, potentially facing copyright issues every day. While most recognize the importance of copyright in creative industries—such as publishing, entertainment, and gaming—copyright broadly protects written, visual, electronic, and other material as diverse as computer programs, websites, company manuals, catalogues, advertising, and product packaging. Adding to the complexity, freelance artists and photographers, computer programmers, ad agencies, and other independent contractors may continue to own the copyrights in works they create—even if a company pays them to create those works—unless a written copyright assignment has been executed.

Hunton’s experienced copyright team helps clients vigilantly recognize and protect the copyrightable material they create and acquire, and seeks to ensure clients do not infringe the rights of others. We also structure, draft, and negotiate agreements to provide clients with the ownership and use rights they need. Our subject matter and industry experience across a wide range of industries assist us in offering practical copyright solutions in a cost-effective manner. We advise companies in film, television, music, art, news, gaming, publishing, fashion, toys, retail, furniture design, architecture, consumer products and labeling, software and mobile applications, web development, marketing and advertising, and more.

Counseling, Audits, and Registration

Through counseling and systematic audits, we guide clients with respect to requirements of originality and fixation, copyright notice, ownership, derivative works, duration of rights, fair use, the consequences (and risks) of joint ownership, cross-border protection, employee and independent contractor agreements, and other issues. And we advise on advertising, sale, and acquisition of copyrights and property libraries, asset-based lending and purchase money financing, due diligence inquiries, moral rights, and performance and related rights.

Copyright registration may appear simple, but errors in the registration process can impact rights and enforceability. We use our extensive knowledge of the Copyright Office’s forms and electronic filing procedures to help clients avoid mistakes, registering and depositing a wide range of copyrightable works, including group works, serial works, and works made for hire, and recording copyright assignments and security interests.

Agreements, Licenses, and Assignments

We structure, draft, and negotiate agreements, licenses, and assignments for copyrighted material, as well as copyright provisions within broader license and assignment agreements, including for works created by employees, ad agencies, photographers, programmers, licensees, and joint venturers and other business partners. We also work with our colleagues in other Hunton practices—such as M&A, retail, energy, and environmental—on copyright aspects of their transactions.

Litigation and Enforcement

When it’s time to enforce rights, we use our knowledge of the law, courts, and industry. In federal courts throughout the country, we have obtained injunctions to protect copyrighted designs in consumer products and packaging, won jury trials on copyright infringement claims in the electronic gaming industry, achieved judgments on infringement and related claims related to consumer promotional materials, and more. Our experience includes website takedowns under the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and in foreign countries with similar laws. We also help clients investigate, respond to, and assert copyright inquiries and demand letters, which are especially prevalent in the advertising, manufacturing, and technology industries.