Q: Hi ! An organization is accusing me of violating intellectual property. Where can I find what, exactly, is protected ?

A: It really isn’t possible to answer this without knowing the details of their accusations. Presumably, they are accusing you of copyright infringement (or possibly trademark infringement)? Please note that, if they do have a valid copyright for a song, video, or whatever it is they are accusing you of using, simply citing the source does not, by itself, protect you from being liable for infringement. But in order to assess the merits of their allegations, you need to discuss the specific details with an IP attorney.

A: It is best to contact an intellectual property lawyer to review the facts specific to your case. It is not clear from your post exactly what the other party is claiming you have infringed or exactly what they are asking you for. Moreover, it is not clear whether you have received a cease and desist letter from this party, or a YouTube takedown notice, etc.

That said, the fact that you have searched several databases and found nothing does not mean the material you are using is not copyright protected. It can be difficult to determine whether a person owns a copyright and what the extent of that copyright protection is. This is because even if a work is registered with the US Copyright Office, you can only publicly view basic bibliographic information such as the title, type of work, date of creation, date of publication, author, and owner. You cannot view the registered work itself.

Moreover, copyright protection can exist for works that have not been registered yet. Although registration is a prerequisite to filing a copyright infringement lawsuit, you may still receive a cease and desist letter or other actions from an alleged copyright owner. If they subsequently register the work, they can file a lawsuit against you. However, their remedies will be limited based on how long the work existed and when registration occurred.

Finally, I note that copyright cannot protect an idea or concept itself, but only the expression of that idea. Thus, a company cannot claim exclusive rights to anatomy and physiology. However graphics, text, and animations that describe or show the anatomy could be protected under copyright. It can be difficult to determine the exact scope of copyright being claimed, and it is best to contact an experience intellectual property attorney to help you decide whether and how to respond.