Copyright Law

1987.

Protection is automatic as soon as the work is fixed in a tangible medium; the timeline for formal registration depends on the country or organization you are registering through, and whether you apply online or through the mail.

Limited unlicensed use is described in the "fair use" or "fair dealing" clauses of copyright laws. In the US, for example, it is section 107 of the law. It states that uses "such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research" may not be infringing if the use also satisfies the so-called "four factors:" the purpose of the use, the nature of the work, the extent of the use, and the effect of the use on the value of the work.

Stanford University hosts a well-respected website dedicated to fair use, at the link below.

If it is a DVD that you legally own, yes you can make a "back up" copy for your personal use

However, deliberately bypassing technology put in place to protect copyrighted material on a DVD that you do not legally own is illegal under terms of Section 1201 (Circumvention of copyright protection systems) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

"(a) VIOLATIONS REGARDING CIRCUMVENTION OF TECHNOLOGICAL MEASURES- (1)(A) No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title"

Additionally, if WikiAnswers were to provide you with information which would allow copyright to be bypassed, there is the possibility of a charge of contributory infringement. In Felton v RIAA: Corley v. Universal the mere posting of a link to a computer program that can be used to circumvent technical protection measures was held to be a violation of the DMCA. [Universal v. Corley (2d Circuit cite)]

To some extent. Enabling creators to reap financial reward for their hard work encourages creation of more works in greater variety.

Trademark law, on the other hand, is designed for consumer protection: if only Proctor and Gambel can make and sell a detergent called "Tide," I know I'm getting what I'm paying for.

Green,Yellow,Red,Black

The money that buying the DVD or CD would have gone to the company who created it.But If you were to buy a pirate copy it is purely profit. And the larger company who created it lose money and cannot pay rights and therefore go bust.. And then they can no longer make cds and dvds for your enjoyment.

Because any copyrightable work is automatically protected, it can be assumed that all websites are protected by copyright unless specified otherwise. Notification is not required for protection.

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

You can register copyright of the manuscript only if you own the rights to the work, for example, by will or by inheritance. Copyright is the right of the author of the work or the author's heirs or assignees. It does not belong to the person who only owns or possesses the physical work itself.

"Copyright constraints" is just a way of saying what you want to do is limited by copyright. If you wanted to use a piece of music in a movie, but the fee the rightsholder wanted was beyond your budget, you would say you couldn't use the song due to copyright constraints.

Not at the moment, although copyright protection for fashion comes up periodically. See the related links for information from a 2006 push to protect fashion, and check news sites for more recent action.

Assuming the material was created and first published after 1977, it would be 70 years for works authored by a person, 95 years after publication for corporate works and 120 years from creation of a corporate work, if that would be earlier than 95 years after publication.

For works prior to that, there are numerous dependencies including when it was created, when it was published, the nationality of the author, whether it was published abroad, whether the publication included copyright notices, whether the copyright was registered in the USA, and whether it was renewed. Works published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, as are works published prior to 1977 without proper copyright notice.

It varies by country but generally it is in effect for the life of the author plus 70 years.

Virtually all video games were produced post 1978. This means their copyrights are not due to expire for 70 years past the death of the author. The only exceptions would be games produced as "work-for-hire" which have a term of either 95 years past publication or 125 years post creation, whichever is shorter.

No.

Registration of copyright is voluntary. Your work is protected as soon as it is "fixed in a tangible form, recognizable by human or machine".

However you will have to be registered if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement in US courts.

Bear in mind that it isn't necessary to take any action to obtain a copyright. 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 want the additional protection that a formally registered copyright will provide, contact the copyright office in your country for the proper procedure and fee amounts.

Yes, you need permission to quote a living or recently dead person. Your words and sayings belong to you, and printing them without permission is plagiarism.

If you use a quote which is old enough, though, you don't need permission. Quoting Shakespeare or the Bible are two examples which don't need permission.

Copyright protections are required to be "for a limited time," but for many years, rightsholders were allowed to renew the copyright, that is to extend protection for a certain amount of time (typically 28 years in the US).

Copyright renewal is not available on more recent materials (since 1978).

It has been stated that you should: "write it all done seal in a envelope and send it in the mail certified to yourself. that way once you get the product made you have dated proof that the idea was yours and no one can steal your idea. also that way if it takes a long time to get the copyright you will already have a legal certied proof that the idea was originall your." However, certified mail is NOT a substitute for a patent or copyright. It may provide evidence of a date before which the idea was developed, but is not proof of origin. Furthermore, copyright does not protect ideas in the slightest. In most places, there is no requirement that you build a prototype or 'reduce the item to practice' before you may file for a patent. The initial patent application description of the invention must be complete enough so that a person with ordinary skill in the area of the invention could make and use the item -- things they may not do without your permission, once your patent is issued. The best thing to do is to contact a qualified patent attorney immediately upon conceiving a new invention that may be valuable. There are mistakes that can easily impair protection of your invention permanently. See related answers on obtaining patents. "Certified mail" is unlikely to provide the type of protection required for a valuable product idea. Keeping something secret in an envelope does not prevent anyone else from independently developing and patenting the same invention before you do. Trying to sell the product before you file a patent application could be a big mistake.

Copyright allows creators to protect their intellectual property for a set amount of time. One situation in which it might be considered wrong to copyright would be if you are attempting to copyright something that was created by someone else and used without their permission.

Copyright law gives creators of original works the exclusive right to copy, alter, distribute, or perform/display the work, or authorize others to do so, for a limited time.

Patent law gives inventors of devices, processes, or plant hybrids the exclusive write to make, use, import, and sell the invention for a limited time.

Unofficially (and for just the cost of postage) you can copyright anything by putting it in a envelope, addressing it to yourself, apply postage, and send it through the mail. The next day when you receive it, DO NOT OPEN IT! It will have a post mark on it PROVING you wrote it on or before the postmark. In many countries a creative work is protected by copyright from the moment it is first written down. In the United States, this is also true, but you will need to register your copyright before you can effectively enforce it. In fact, there are other valuable reasons to register it immediately after you first publish it. There are simple forms to file and moderate fees involved, so you should consider registration for any valuable works. Sending yourself a copy in the mail (unlike registration) does not notify the world of your ownership so that people can contact you for a distribution license or commission additional works. :-)