Copyright Law Day Date in the current year: January 1, 2024

Copyrights are one of the types of intellectual property, along with patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. A copyright gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work (an artistic, literary, musical, or educational form). The duration of copyright is typically limited and expires 50 to 100 years after the creator’s death, depending on the jurisdiction.

The modern concept of intellectual property is relatively new. Its development started in 17th-century England, and the term “intellectual property” itself emerged in the 19th century. However, it wasn’t until the late 20th century that intellectual property and copyright law became part of most legal systems in the world.

Copyright laws vary greatly depending on the jurisdiction. For example, some countries have certain copyright formalities that need to be completed in order to obtain a copyright, while others recognize copyright in any completed work, even without a formal copyright registration. It should be noted that copyrights granted by the law of a certain country are only applicable in that specific jurisdiction.

It is unclear who created Copyright Law Day and when it happened, but its date was probably chosen to coincide with Public Domain Day because the concept of the pubic domain is inextricably linked with copyright laws. The holiday is designed to celebrate all lawyers who specialize in copyright law, as well as to encourage creators to protect their intellectual property before someone decides to take advantage of it.

How can you observe Copyright Law Day? If you’re a creator, learn more about copyright laws and think about copyrighting your work. Even though you may not necessarily need to do it, copyrighting your intellectual property would hopefully prevent potential money loss. You also should think about having a copyright lawyer on retainer if you’ve already had to deal with copyright infringement more than once.

If you’re just a regular consumer of content, celebrate Copyright Law Day by supporting creators. You can do this by purchasing original products (films, music, books, software, etc.) instead of pirating them, encouraging your friends to do the same, becoming your favorite creators’ patron on Patreon, buying their official merchandise, etc.

It is also a great idea to learn more about copyright in order to avoid infringing other people’s intellectual property accidentally; for example, you can’t use just any picture you’ve found online for your purposes. Read about various copyright licenses, derivative works and fair use, things that are and are not protected by copyright (for example, ideas and facts are not regarded as intellectual property), and other aspects of copyright law that can be truly fascinating! And don’t forget to spread the word about the holiday on social media using the hashtag #CopyrightLawDay.