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What is a copyright? What are "works of authorship" that may be protected by copyright law? What are examples of tangible mediums of expression? I have an idea for a story, how can I get a copyright for it? What if someone comes up with a highly similar work of authorship to mine, what can I do about it? How long does copyright last? Do I have to register my copyright with the Copyright Office in order to have protection? Do I have to use copyright notice on my materials? What is a proper copyright notice? Do I have to renew a copyright? What happens when a copyright registration expires? What is a copyright? Briefly, a copyright is actually a “bundle” of rights defined by the Copyright Act which give the copyright owner the exclusive right to do or authorize others to do any of the following: A. Reproduce the copyrighted work; B. Prepare a derivative work based upon the copyrighted work; C. To distribute copies of or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership or by rental, lease or lending; D. In the case of literary, musical, dramatic and choreographic works pantomimes and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, the exclusive right to perform the copyrighted works publicly; E. In the case of literary, musical, dramatic and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic or sculptural works, including individual images from motion picture or other audio-visual works, the exclusive right to display the copyrighted work publicly; F. In the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted works publicly by means of digital audio transmission. Return to Top What are "works of authorship" that may be protected by copyright law? The Copyright Act defines "works of authorship" as “literary works, musical works, including the accompanying words, dramatic works, including any accompanying music, pantomimes and choreographic works, pictorial, graphic and sculptural works, motion pictures and other audio-visual works, sound recordings and architectural works.” Furthermore, the original works of authorship must be fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which the works can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Return to Top What are examples of tangible mediums of expression? Quite obviously, writing or drawing something on paper. Other types of expression would include painting a picture (whether it is on canvass or the wall of a parking garage), photography, computer websites, computer software, sculptures, motion pictures and videos, sound recordings and even performance of dance movements whether it be ballet or break dancing. Return to Top I have an idea for a story, how can I get a copyright for it? Copyrights do not exist in ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles or discoveries regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated or embodied. In other words, the copyright will not be available for the story until it is affixed in one of the tangible mediums of expression mentioned above, i.e., written on paper, recited on an audio tape. Merely having a general idea for a plot and a few hand written notes will not be sufficient. Return to Top What if someone comes up with a highly similar work of authorship to mine, what can I do about it? It depends on whether the work is a reproduction of, or substantially based on, your work. In plain English, if someone photocopies your book or painting, or copies and pastes your software code into their code, then that activity is generally prohibited (there are some statutory exceptions such as "fair use" for news, commentary or educational purposes but only if the use is no more than necessary and there are some other limited exceptions for libraries). However, copyright does not protect against independent creation even if the works are substantially the same. For example, if 27 different photographers take a picture of Mount Rushmore, either at the same time, or on 27 different days, each photographer's picture would be an original work of authorship even though the subject of all 27 pictures is identical. The first photographer to take a picture of Mount Rushmore would not be able to use copyright law to prevent someone else from taking a picture later on. However, that photographer would have the right to prevent someone from reproducing his or her particular photograph for further distribution whether it be in paper form or in digital form on the Internet. Return to Top How long does copyright last? The current term of a copyright for individual persons is for the life of the author/creator plus 70 years after his or her death. For most institutional authors, such companies and educational institutions, the term is 95 from the first publication or, if not published, 120 years from its creation, whichever occurs first. The above rule applies to works created on or after January 1, 1978. Different terms apply for older works. Return to Top Do I have to register my copyright with the Copyright Office in order to have protection? The answer is yes and no. While copyright attaches as soon as an original work of authorship is affixed to a tangible medium of expression, you cannot sue someone to enforce your copyright until you register it with the Copyright Office. So you have copyrights once the work is written or affixed to tangible form, but without registration, you can't enforce those rights against others. Return to Top Do I have to use copyright notice on my materials? Again, the answer is yes and no. You are not denied the right to sue someone for infringement (assuming you registered your copyright) for failure to put the copyright notice (C) on your materials. However, it is a good idea to use the notice because failure to use the notice opens up an "innocent infringement" defense for the infringer. That is, he or she can say "I didn't know this was copyrighted by anyone." While even innocent infringers can be forced to stop the infringing activity, it may significantly impact your ability to get damages or attorneys fees because of the infringement. Use of the Copyright notice takes away the innocent infringement defense. Return to Top What is a proper copyright notice? The notice can be in any of the following forms: The letter "C" inside a circle(C) or the word "Copyright" or the abbreviation "Copr.", then the year of publication, followed the name of the copyright owner i.e., (C) 2002 Jeffrey J. Look. For sound recordings, such as music CDs and tapes, the notice is essentially the same except that the letter "P" inside a circle (P) would be used. Return to Top Do I have to renew a copyright? No for works created after January 1, 1978. Once a copyright is registered, the copyright lasts for the statutory terms described in Copyright FAQ #6. There is no renewal option. However, if you later make substantive changes or updates to a prior copyrighted work, such as a new edition or a sequel, then a new copyright registration for that updated work should be filed as the original registration will only cover the original work. Minor changes, such as correcting typographical errors, do not require a subsequent copyright application. Different terms and rules apply to copyrighted works created before January 1, 1978, so check with a qualified Copyright attorney when dealing with older works. Return to Top What happens when a copyright registration expires? The work enters the "public domain." That is, it becomes free and available for anyone to copy or use for any purpose. Return to Top |
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