---
title: "Best Benefit Ever: Making Copyright Less Confusing"
id: "34535"
type: "post"
slug: "best-benefit-ever-making-copyright-less-confusing"
published_at: "2016-08-09T22:40:43+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-11-09T16:46:59+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/08/09/best-benefit-ever-making-copyright-less-confusing/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/08/09/best-benefit-ever-making-copyright-less-confusing.md"
excerpt: "A coalition that speaks up for the rights of creators in the film and television industries launches a clearinghouse for on-the-ground advice about copyright and trademark issues."
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  - "Advocacy"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "Advocacy"
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "Copyright"
  - "Creativity"
  - "Membership"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Association CEO / Executive Director"
  - "Executive Team"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Executive Leadership"
---

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 » Best Benefit Ever: Making Copyright Less Confusing

**What is it?** The antipiracy coalition CreativeFuture [is best known for its ties to Hollywood](http://associationsnow.com/2014/04/hollywoods-new-approach-to-antipiracy-efforts/)
, but it appears to also speak up for the value of creativity and copyrights in general. [Recently, the group launched a “Creativity Toolkit (opens in a new tab)](http://creativefuture.org/creativity-toolkit/)
,” which offers an array of resources focused on protecting copyrights—including what people can do if a work of theirs has been pirated online. “We care deeply about creatives’ rights. We want to arm them with as much knowledge that we can—to help them protect their work,” explained CreativeFuture CEO Ruth Vitale. “We felt that the Creativity Toolkit was one way we could arm them. Knowledge is a powerful tool!”

**Why it works:** The feature plays into the role that CreativeFuture hopes to take in the copyright debate—a role that involves speaking up for individual artists as much as for larger companies. As a result, [a step-by-step guide that tells members how they can copyright a work (opens in a new tab)](http://creativefuture.org/creativity-toolkit/step-by-step-guide-registration-of-a-copyright/)
 [member login required] has dividends far beyond the bigger message. Vitale notes that the group put a significant amount of time into organizing the resource.

**Other benefits:** CreativeFuture is very much focused on advocacy, and those who join the coalition are in a position to help the group build out a robust voice. And because of its ties to Hollywood, the group is able to get prominent artists—[say, a Walking Dead producer (opens in a new tab)](http://creativefuture.org/feds-unleashing-piracy-apocalypse-walking-dead-producer/)
—to speak up on issues near to the group’s heart, such as the Federal Communications Commission’s [attempt to open up the set-top box](http://associationsnow.com/2016/06/cable-industry-forget-unlock-box-lets-drop-altogether/)
.

(iStock/Thinkstock)

[Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/)

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/)

Tags: [#Advocacy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/advocacy/)
 [#Copyright](https://associationsnow.com/tag/copyright/)
 [#Creativity](https://associationsnow.com/tag/creativity/)
 [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/)

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