You, Creator.

Photography by: Carl Heyerdahl

You, Creator, are something special. You are special because you make something out of nothing.

You are special because you commit time, energy, passion, and talent to the pursuit of human expression. Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of this simple fact, so let me take a minute to explain why it is I do what I do, and why I believe in you:

Simply put, I believe in you because I am you.

I know the fire that propels you to commit your ideas to form in the middle of night, and I know the anguish of dealing with problems that get in the way of you doing what you do best: Creating.

In fact, you are even more valuable than you know!

Of all the types of law I practice, my favorite is Copyright Law. And you, Creator, have important assets called copyrights.

But let’s back up… what is a copyright, and why is it valuable?

It boils down to this – as soon as you take your idea and create it in a tangible form (i.e. photograph, painting, sculpture, music track, and on and on…) you now own a copyright, and have a monopoly in that thing you just created.

It’s yours, it’s valuable, and it can’t be taken from you. You can trade it, you can sell it, you can license it, you can destroy it! It’s your property, your asset.

Everything you have ever created (with few exceptions) has this inherent copyright attached to it. In future blog posts, I will be spending quite a bit of time on many legal and business issues that Creators face, but you’ll find me coming back over and over again to copyright, why it’s important, and what it means to you.

Finally, let me tell you who I am and why you should care...

For over ten years, I was a fine art and commercial photographer. I also owned an art gallery in Deep Ellum, TX for many years. I have taught thousands of photographers and creatives how to grow their businesses and navigate legal traps.

And I’ve now started a law firm dedicated to helping creatives. That’s you. And that’s me. Each week I will be writing up a short post here at Artist Uprising, but you can always contact me directly.

I’d love to talk to you.

For now, go out, create, bring forth into the world the best of your ideas, and know there is a community of people ready to help when you need it.

Tom Maddrey

Website: www.maddreypllc.com

Email Tom: tbm@maddreypllc.com

Phone Tom: 214-702-9862

Twitter: @MaddreyPLLC

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