Copyright Information

Below is a brief summary of US and International copyright law relevant to the ownership of drawings, writings and other material that is developed during the process of creating a design, a sketch, a piece of writing, or basically any creative work. Following that is an outline of what will be considered copyright infringement with regard to the graphic and written material at this web site.

The following wording is from Circular #1 published by the US Copyright Office, and is current to the best of my knowledge.

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (Title 17, CFR) and internationally by agreement with member nations to the Universal Copyright Convention and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. Copyright is a personal property right, and is subject to the laws regarding ownership and transfer of personal property.

Copyright law protects works both published and unpublished, including graphics and drawings, digital or otherwise. Copyright protection exists from the moment a work is created in fixed form. It is coincident with the process of authorship. The copyright to any created work immediately becomes the property of the author at the moment of authorship.

A copyright need not be formally applied for, nor formally granted: It is automatic.

Proof of copyright ownership is enhanced by registering the copyright, but copyright ownership is not created by registration. Copyright protection is also enhanced by giving "notice of copyright" on the work itself.

Notice of copyright consists of:

1. The word "Copyright" or the symbol © (the letter C in a circle), followed by
2. The date of creation, and
3. The author's name.

Only the author of a work can rightfully claim copyright. A work that is especially commissioned, such as a painting, a drawing, a piece of writing, a design, a book, a graphic is the copyrighted property of the author. Among other kinds of work, copyright protects literary, pictorial, graphic, and architectural works.

Transfers of copyright ownership are made by contract. The parties may expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the copyright is to be transferred to a party other than the author. Without such a contract, a commissioned work belongs entirely to the author.

Copyright endures for the author's life, plus 50 years. In the case of works "made for hire," where ownership is transferred by contract to a party other than the author, copyright endures for 100 years from creation, or for 75 years from the date of publishing, whichever is lesss.

Notes Regarding Use of Our Web Site Content

All images, drawings and written material at www.kastenyachtdesign.com are copyrighted materials, originated by Michael Kasten. All content at these domains has been registered with the US Library of Congress and the US Copright Office. Copright violations will be prosecuted.

You could be held liable for copyright infringement if you copy images, drawings or written material from the above mentioned web domains.
The length of a copied document or size or portion of a copied image does not matter, and the amount of a document or image that you may have copied does not matter.
In other words, copying even a small part of a document or image or drawing will expose you to liability for copyright infringement and prosecution under US copyright law.
Although copyright notice on the original work is always recommended, copyright notice is not required for a work to be protected by copyright.
In other words, immediately upon creation of a written or graphic work, copyright protection is automatic.
Distributing copyrighted content without the copyright owner’s permission is copyright infringement, even if you distribute it for free.
There is no exception for unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted works for "private" use or for educational or for non-commercial use.
In other words, even if you share a work with friends or family, or use a work for educational purposes, you could still be held liable for copyright infringement.
You could be liable for copyright infringement even if you provide information in order to properly credit the work to the owner or author of the copyrighted content.
Even if you create a totally new work that contains another person’s copyrighted work or part of such a work, you expose yourself to liability for copyright infringement.
In US copyright law "Fair Use" is an allowable exception whereby reproduction of limited parts of copyrighted works is permitted for limited purposes, including research, teaching or commentary.
For any and all "Fair Use" of graphic or written content at www.kastenyachtdesign.com, it is requested that permission be granted in writing for each "Fair Use" instance.

For questions regarding the use of materials at these domains, please inquire about our "Fair Use" policy and terms, thank you.

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