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Copyright Law
The rights assigned to the creator of an original work, for a certain time period, in which its publication, distribution and adaptation are protected.
3,742 Questions
How are copyright and plagiarism related?
While plagiarism violates many moral and ethical rule systems, copyright infringement is additionally a violation of federal law.
Plagiarism is submitting someone else's work as your own, whether or not that work is also copyrighted, i.e., without giving credit for the true source.
Copyright is the violation of the author's exclusive rights to duplicate, adapt, distribute, and publicly perform or display the work without authorization, even if you give credit to the author. Copyright eventually expires, but that wouldn't excuse plagiarizing it.
What happens if someone breaks the copyright law?
Anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased up to $150,000 for each work infringed. In addition, an infringer of a work may also be liable for the attorney's fees incurred by the copyright owner to enforce his or her rights
How do you place a copyright mark on your photos?
It isn't necessary to take any action for a photograph to be protected. Copyright protection is automatic, as soon as work of sufficient originality is "fixed in a tangible medium, perceptible to human eye, machine reader or other device".
If you do decide that you want or need the additional protection a formally registered copyright can afford, contact the copyright office in your country for the proper procedure.
Does copyright infringement hurt authors?
Yes. The intent of copyright law is to make it financially viable to create for a living by giving the creator the exclusive right to sell or license the results of his or her hard work. When a work is infringed, suddenly the creator isn't the only person selling it; if I copy and sell your work, I can sell it for cheap because it didn't cost me anything to make. The book you've been selling for $25 per copy, I've now scanned and am giving away: I've devalued your property by eliminating scarcity.
A good explanation of this from the creator's point of view is Wil Wheaton's 2009 blog post "an open letter to the guy who put just a geek the audiobook on his website for people to steal" (link below).
How do you make a copyright if you copied something off the interent?
If your use is not covered by an exception or defense in the law (that is, if your use would not be defensible under fair use, for example), simply ask the rightsholder for permission. Such requests are typically handled in writing (many large rightsholders and administrators have simple webforms for submitting requests) and are very specific; additional uses (at a different time, or of a different type) are likely to require additional negotiation.
A work of sufficient originality is automatically protected by copyright as soon as it is fixed in a tangible medium. If formal registration is available in your country, you may choose to do that as well, although it is not required.
How much of a song may you include without violating copyright?
Unless your inclusion would qualify as "fair use" legally you cannot use any part of a copyrighted work without permission.
Despite the various "urban myths" (10%, 300 words, etc) floating around there is no preset amount that you can "borrow" without seeking the proper permission from the rights holder.
What branch has the power to secure patents and copyrights?
In the US, The United States Patent and Trademark Office, an agency of the US Department of Commerce. Most Western countries also have a Government Patent Office that grants patents. The European Union has the European Patent Organisation for this purpose.
Does a Copyright last forever?
Yes, although legislators have been steadily increasing the term of copyright, so nothing new has entered the public domain for many years. Many works will enter the public domain in the US in 2018 and in 2037.
What is the most you can get fined for copyright?
The maximum fine for copyright infringement is $150,000.00 per incidence.
What is the copyright law for print media?
Magazine publishing is subject to the same copyright laws as all other publications. However, there are some specific issues that relate specifically to magazines. These are just a few, not all. 1. Magazines usually copyright each issue as a collection. This is a separate copyright from the individual copyrights on individual articles. 2. Who owns the copyright on an individual story depends on the wording of the contract. Free-lancers usually own the copyright for their articles, and the magazine "buys" the story/article for a specific limited period of time, for which they pay a royalty fee. Articles written by staff members usually belong to the publisher. Recent case law also requires that publishers specifically buy the rights to put the articles written by free-lancers in electronic archives. That right would be expressed in the publishing contract. Free lance articles may be paid by the word or by the article, but even if there is no fee paid (as sometimes happens with articles in non-profit organizations' magazines), the copyright is still owned by the author unless the contract states otherwise. 3. Republication rights for free-lancers' articles usually revert to the author more quickly than book publishers. This depends on the individual contract. For more information, read "Kirsch's Handbook of Publishing Law" by Jonathan Kirsch, the most accessible book on the subject for someone not versed in the law. Elise Dee Beraru Published Author and California attorney now residing, but not practicing law, in Lynchburg, Virginia
Who has the right to file for copyright protection?
The owner of the copyright. The owner can decide to hire a lawyer and pursue the case.
How long does a copyright of a signed work created after 1978 last?
It depends on the circumstances. Works published or registered before 1978 currently have a maximum copyright duration of 95 years from the date of publication, if copyright was renewed during the 28th year following publication. If a work was created prior to 1978 but not published until recently copyright protection may extent to 2047.
As a sidenote works published before 1923 are in the public domain as are works created before 1964 & not properly renewed.
How do you use a song that's protected by copyright?
The term of protection on a song is for the life of the creator plus 50 years (the US and some other countries have extended this to life plus 70 years). Copying without permission is a violation of the creator's rights.
How many people a year get fined for breaking the copyright laws?
It's impossible to know how many people are fined for infringement, because the vast majority of cases are handled privately and settled out of court.
Does fair use only apply in educational purposes?
Education is one of the uses mentioned in the law as likely to be fair, within the bounds of the four factors: the purpose and character of the use (in this case, education), the nature of the work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used, and the effect on the market. The TEACH Act further clarifies educational uses, but even so there are no hard-and-fast rules.
Copyright law gives the creator of a work the exclusive right to copy, alter, distribute, or perform/display the work, or authorize others to do so, for a limited time. It is used to encourage creativity and discourage infringement.
What is the difference between copyright and royalty?
Copyright can refer to an evolving series of intellectual property laws, designed to protect original works of authorship. It can also mean the action of registering a copyright on a particular work. Royalties are payments that are made to a rights holder when an authorized copy of their work is sold/used.
Who copyrights a book the author or publisher?
It depends on the specific language of the contract between the author and the publisher.
Can you sing a copyrighted song?
Yes, you can, but if you claim it as your own song, like you wrote it, then you could get in serious trouble.
The intent is good, although the application is hotly debated.
The point of copyright is to acknowledge the hard work of creators, by allowing only them to ascribe value to it and gain monetarily from it. In the US Constitution, the reason given is "to promote the advancement of science and the useful arts," essentially by making it financially viable to create for a living. Before copyright law existed, you'd write a book and print maybe 100 to sell, and I'd buy a copy but then make 2000 to sell myself--I'm devaluing your work, and taking from your income.
In all early copyright laws, it was made very clear that the term of the exclusive rights should be limited to a certain period of time, after which the work would enter the public domain. As time wears on and valuable works start edging toward the end of their term, powerful rightsholders lobby the legislature to extend the term, effectively reducing the number of works that enter the public domain, and allowing rightsholders to make more money licensing the work. Term has gone from 28 years from publication to the life of the author plus 50 years in most countries, and the life of the author plus 70 years in the US. Now, the composer of a single hit song can be assured that his rights are protected for his entire life and the life of his children.
Another complaint about contemporary copyright is it hasn't adapted well to technological advances. The laws applying to streaming audio and downloadable mp3s, for example, were written in 1919 to address the new invention of player pianos. Because the lawmakers are often overwhelmed by attempts to update the law, they turn to the more experienced members of the industry to "help," meaning large lobbying groups are essentially writing the laws themselves.
In an attempt to prevent duplication and piracy of digital files, rightsholders have used copy protection technology that doesn't allow for the unlicensed uses exempted in the law, or even unlicensed uses generally accepted in business. Until the TEACH Act exempted it, breaking DRM to make a clip reel for a film studies class counted as infringement, even though it would have been defensible under fair use.
What are the descending numbers found on some copyright pages?
You're probably looking at the "print line." It may have different formats, but it will generally be something like this: 1 2 3 4 5 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 The "1 2 3 4 5" lets you know whether this is a first printing, second printing, etc. The lowest number is the one of the printing. Each time the book is reprinted, the number of the previous printing is just masked in making/revising the printing plates. Similarly, the lowest year listed is the year your particular copy of the book was printed. Thus, the following print line 3 4 5 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 would indicate that your copy of the book came from the third printing, which was made in 1995.
The first related decision was in Gyles v Wilcox in 1740, which ruled that an abridgment of a book (which requires editorial decisions, education, and judgment) was not infringing. This "fair abridgment" idea carried forward into the various "fair dealing" and "fair use" laws around the world.
What is the maximum penalty for breaking copyright in the UK?
Under current US copyright law the factors necessary to make an infringement a criminal felony are set forth in Title 18 of the U.S. Code.
If someone, without permission, has made, in any 180-day period, ten or more copies of one or more copyrighted works with a total retail value of $2,500 the the standard for felony criminal copyright infringement has been met
Once that has happened a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and maximum fime of $250,0000.00 per infringement can be imposed.
What does publication medium mean?
Whether is source is a book, website, or newspaper, or any other thing, that is it's publication medium. If it's a book you would label it's publication medium "print"
