It’s no accident that advertisers spend billions of dollars every year on commercials for national TV, Radio and Print media. Advertising to a ‘captured audience’ has been a very lucrative model for a long time.
However, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock recently, you probably know that mass media advertising has entered a world of pain.

To put it simply, many big corporations selling household names and services are…

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Let’s get straight to the point. If you’ve written, composed, sculpted, crafted or painted an original work then, the copyright’s already yours under the laws of many civilized nations.

However, Dear Readers, please note that the team here at GollyGoose is not a legal authority on copyright or Intellectual Property law - we hire our own counsel whenever that’s necessary. So, whether you are buying or selling via the GollyGoose platform, it’s very important that you also do your own copywriting research before bidding for or offering an item listed on the site.

Obviously we encourage everyone to follow the law of the land and only buy or sell legitimate content. (For products listed on Gollygoose.com this means the laws of the State of California; see our terms and conditions for details).

We understand that beginners often find the whole idea of copyright to be very confusing. However, you can learn a lot in an hour or two by doing some online research.
 
And to help speed things up, here are two highly recommended sites that include lots of understandable information on copyright registration and protection.

Note that we provide these links as educational information only and GollyGoose.com cannot be responsible for your use of them.

Site #1: United States Copyright Office

OK, let’s start off with the United States Copyright Office. Their website is http://www.copyright.gov/ where you’ll find a ton of free information on what copyright actually is and how to register yours for a variety of products types.

Check out the FAQ and learn more about what types of works are protected, who can claim copyright and how to secure a copyright. An important point is that your copyright is secured from the moment the work is created (but not necessarily published).

You don’t have to register with the US Copyright Office (or your equivalent body for works created outside the US) to secure the copyright but it’s highly advantageous to do so if you want to defend your copyright from infringement through the legal system. Bear that in mind as you check out the services from organizations offering (for a fee) to register your copyright with the US Copyright Office or foreign equivalents.

Bottom line: You can register the copyright yourself if you fill in the forms, send the obligatory copies and pay the fee. Or you can pay a 3rd party to do all this for you.

For works published in the US it probably makes most sense to register your copyright with the US Copyright Office. Works created and published elsewhere should consider using the relevant copyrighting registration service in that country.

Another useful resource linked to from the US Copyright office website is this flash animation titled “Taking the Mystery Out of Copyright”. You can find it at the Library of Congress website: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/copyrightmystery/
Although written for teachers and students, anyone new to copyright law can benefit from watching it.

Site #2: The United Kingdom’s Intellectual Property Office

Right, let’s zip across the ‘Pond’ and check out the United Kingdom’s copyrighting website: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/

Where we find, in true British style, that they’ve set up an “Intellectual Property Office” website.

This is actually very educational as it allows us to point out that Intellectual Property (IP) rights cover more than just copyright. The three others discussed on that website are Designs, Patents and Trademarks. Look out for some future blog posts from us on these too.

More on this coming soon…

GollyGoose Team

Here at GollyGoose.com HQ we try to keep business real simple. We know the online world’s taken to video content like a duck to water (we like Geese better but you get the point!) Just look at the success of Google’s YouTube plus a gaggle of other video file sharing sites. These days, ordinary folks are creating and sharing and watching 24 x 7.

That’s great and all, but free video costs someone time and money to go from idea to uploaded clip. Sure, many will create and share freely just for the thrill of it. And we’re all for that.

But wouldn’t it be nice to have your virtual cake and eat it too? We’re thinking supply and demand. Just look at Google trying to figure out how to make money from that endless river of non-stop content they get for free. You can bet the GollyGoose team sees BIG opportunities in bringing media buyers and content providers together.

Yep! That’s right - you’ve been a content provider in disguise all along - and now we want to help you shine your creative light in the direction of people who will pay well for great material. Do you realize there are buyers out there who can benefit (dare we say profit) from what you bring to the digital table? These folks know the Internet’s becoming a multimedia banquet - and they’re starving for fresh, original content.

Imagine these well-heeled buyers are diners at the GollyGoose media content restaurant. You guys are the content chefs - and your kitchen the world! We’re merely online waiters making sure your delicious bytes get to the right tables, the tips are collected and you get your fair share. (By the way, foie-gras is NOT on this menu!)

Actually you can do even better than “fair share” because some customers will pay extra just to be the only mouth your digital food will feed. That’s right - we’ll help you sell exclusive rights to your mouthwatering media creations to one lucky buyer. By following what’s hot on the GollyGoose site you’ll be able to target regular buyers and given them what they drool over - exciting and enticing videos, pictures, audios and even the well written word.

As in real life, most online buyers at GollyGoose will probably be happy to get access to a quality product for a bargain price. And they won’t mind sharing its use with others, as long as the seller is genuine and not ripping off someone else’s work.

‘Course we’ve some systems in place to help keep everyone who uses GollyGoose legal, honest and decent. For starters, our buyers don’t pay sellers until they’re happy the media is genuine and the seller owns the copyright. That means sellers get paid only after the buyer has checked their purchase out.

And then there’s the market making power of the online auction that powers GollyGoose.com. You’ll be able to see what’s selling and what’s not - sniff out a bargain and bid on a scoop. We even think there’ll be enterprising people making content deliberately for sale on GollyGoose.com. “Build it and they will bid” could be their motto.

So if you want to be part of the online Goose that lays the Golden Eggs - then register today as a buyer or seller or both. And let’s shake up the world of spontaneous media creation!

Regards,
Mark McClure