The Essence Of Copyright And Consideration Concerning Copyright Infringement

An individual that is completing a written assignment, designing a logo, writing an essay or editing a novel, must understand the importance of creator originality. In regard to the Copyright Law, originality requires, ‘not only that the author has not copied the work from another, but also that there is “at least some minimal degree of creativity”’ (US Legal, 2019). The stress of deadlines and perfecting pieces of work becomes major if everything is left to the last minute. When the workload is piling up, stealing someone else’s work and passing it off as your own should never be considered. Copyright is ‘a legal means of protecting an author’s work. It is a type of intellectual property that provides exclusive publication, distribution, and usage rights for the author. This means whatever content the author created cannot be used or published by anyone else without the consent of the author’ (Techterms.com, 2019). The issue of copyright can be presented when work is not referenced correctly from the original creator when using passages of text or images in your own work. When deadlines are drawing closer for more than one project, the stress settles in and the challenge of trying to get everything done in time can sneak up on you quicker than one might think.

The issue being presented in this case is that a graphic designer is under the pump to get a multitude of projects done in a short amount of time. They have considered taking small sections of work and images, from someone else, to give to their clients so that the focus can be directed on the other projects that are upcoming. However, there has been no consideration for a copyright infringement that will occur. Stealing another individuals work was not the original plan for this graphic designer but it seemed to be the easiest way out of the situation being presented to them. Each individual that is involved in this situation, such as the colleagues that have been notified about the plans for copyright, the client that will be receiving the copyrighted work, and also the graphic designer who is stealing another individuals work, will be affected by this infrignement.

When completeing projects that have deadlines in place, remember to manage your time effectively. If time management is considered when your work is being done, there will not be the issue of trying to find shortcuts for your work. This may result in you as a graphic designer, not be able to take on as many projects, or it may mean you just need more organisation skills for future projects. Obviously, there is no telling when business may pick up or drop off at any certain time, but making sure you can get the jobs you have taken on, completed in a timely manner, there should be no issues that arise – in conjuction to copyright. Stealing another individual’s work may seem like the easiest option for you, but in reality, it will bring you more negative attention than positive. If the individual that you stole the work from finds out, you can be get in major trouble. Another recommendation is that tasks that may be out of your skill level should not be taken on, as you are just then setting unrealistic goals for yourself and for the client, who will in the end be dissatisfied with the final product. Passing off someone else’s work as your own, especially when you are in a deigning field of work, can cause your reputation to plummet.

Not only will it damage your reputation because you have been fined for stealing someone’s work, but you will also lose clients when thy find out you are not creative or original enough to design things yourself. The client can also be given strife as a result of this laziness on your own behalf, for example, if they were happy with the work they received from you, and they post it online for the whole world to see and then the individual that has had their work stolen from them finds out, everyone involved can expect the consequences of a copyright infrignement. The ultimate goal when being a graphic designer, is to showcase your creativity and work you have completed and the reputation you withhold is entirely up to you.

When using or quoting another individual’s work, legally you must; give credit to the author and not change any part of the quotation to give the original creator a negative reputation. If you have used another creators work in conjunction with notifying them that their work is being used, the obligations aforementioned don’t apply. If the graphic designer still chooses to pass this work off as their own, they may be fined between $200 to $150,000 for each individual piece of work they have infrigned upon (Lib.purdue.edu, 2019), which will not be a good look for the company you are with, or your own personal reputation. The colleagues that have knowledge of you intending to steal someone else’s work, will also be held accountable.

Before stealing someone else’s work and calling it your own, consider the consequences you will face as a result. Not only will their be legal action taken, but your reputation and cliental will dwindle down immensely. If the workload you have taken on has become too much, maybe consider taking on less projects the next time an increase of clients come in, or just learn how to better your time management and organisational skills.