How freelance writers can protect their copyright — and why it matters

Content created in one medium can spark a variety of spinoffs. For example, "Hustlers" (2019), "Blue Crush" (2002), and "Fast and the Furious" (2001) are all movies inspired by articles first published in the New York Magazine, Outside, and Vibe. The right to turn those articles into films and who gets paid for it stems from the copyright.

You don't need to keep the rights to everything you produce. Still, understanding copyright and developing best practices can allow you to revisit your work in podcasts, books, and other media.

• Copyright protects the creator of an original work of art, such as images, visuals, literary works and any other type of expression.
• Copyright doesn't protect ideas but how the ideas are expressed - for example, text choices, visual decisions, or movement choices can have copyright protection.
• Copyright automatically belongs to the creator unless otherwise specified by a contract.
• Copyright also covers how the work can be displayed, reproduced, and distributed, including any work derivative.
• Creators tend to build an Intellectual Property Portfolio of copyrights of all their works.