|
U.S. Copyright
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of
the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of
“original works of authorship,” which include
literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual
works. This protection is available to both published and
unpublished works. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives
the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize
others to do the following:
- To reproduce the work in copies;
- To prepare derivative works based upon the work;
- To distribute copies of the work to the public by sale
or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or
lending;
- To perform the work publicly;
- To display the copyrighted work publicly, and
- In the case of sound recordings, to perform the work
publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.
- In addition, certain authors of works of visual art have
the rights of attribution and integrity.
A copyright protects the form of expression rather than the
subject matter. For example, a description of a machine could
be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying
the description; it would not prevent others from writing
a description of their own or from making and using the machine.
Only the author or individuals deriving their rights through
the author can rightfully claim copyright. In the case of
works made for hire, the employer and not the employee is
considered to be the author. The authors of a joint work are
co-owners of the copyright in the work, unless an agreement
to the contrary has been established.
Copyright Protection
Copyright protection comes into existence from the
time the work is created in fixed form, without the requirement
of notice or registration formalities. Nevertheless, the author
is advised to include a copyright notation in the work to
acknowledge his or her legal rights. A typical copyright notation
includes the copyright symbol, the year, and the name of the
author.
Copyright Registration
An optional practice, copyright registration establishes
a public record of the copyright, and the author's name and
address. Fo publications in the United States, registration
is required before one can file an infringement lawsuit. Timely
registration also bestows additional legal rights, particularly
the ability to receive "statutory damages" and attorneys'
fees in an infringement action. In general, one must register
before the infringement occurs to exercise these legal rights.
Copyright Violations
It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights
provided by the copyright law to the owner of copyright. These
rights, however, are not unlimited in scope. Sections 107
through 121 of the 1976 Copyright Act establish limitations
on these rights. In some cases, these limitations are specified
exemptions from copyright liability. One major limitation
is the doctrine of "fair use," which is given a
statutory basis in section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act.
In other instances, the limitation takes the form of a "compulsory
license" under which certain limited uses of copyrighted
works are permitted upon payment of specified royalties and
compliance with statutory conditions.
|
