Copyright In The Digital Medium

Introduction

Copyright protects the look & feel of A website Every Web page is a literary copyrightable work

Copyright And Digital World

Technology-Double edged swordCreating new means to fix original

expressions in a tangible form

The same being exploited in infringing

the copyrights with impunity

Copyright & Internet Activities

CachingBrowsingMirroringDownloadingUploadingFile swapping-P2P transmission/P2P sharing

Do the above activities infringe the

five exclusive statutory rights

of a copyright owner?

Acts Amounting to Infringement

Transmission involving temporary storage of

information

Unauthorised storage of informationViolation of exclusive distribution rightsAppearance of a copyright image in web Browser-violation of public display rightInfringement of exclusive right to prepare derivative

works

Legal Aspects Of File Sharing

Peer-to-peer ("P2P") technology allows people worldwide to share files and data

includes some that is subject to copyright, which has been targeted by rights holders

peer-to-peer networks can be used for legitimate purposes.

Peer-to-peer ("P2P") technology allows people worldwide to share files and data, and since this, although

The architecture of P2P systems vary some rely upon a centralized server, others are decentralized with no one site operating the system. Newer P2P system architectures often include measures to conceal the identities of senders, recipients and material.

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Architecture Of P2P Systems Vary

centralized server

decentralized with no one site operating the system

Newer P2P system architectures often include measures to conceal the identities of senders, recipients and material.

Legal Issues In P2p Sharing And
Bit Torrent

Novelty of Legal issues

The challenges facing copyright holders in the face of file sharing systems are historically novel, and highlight many new challenges in both theory and practice:

Ambiguities in the interpretation of copyright law

The new challenges posed by international communications and varying legislations

Mass litigation and the development of processes forevidenceanddiscovery

Rapidly developing new technologies and uses, includingfile hostingsites

Low barriers to entry by would-be sharers and the development of a mass usage of the technologies

What is P2P??

Systems which allows only mutually trusted peers to participate.

Achieved by using a central server or Direct connect hubs to authenticate clients.

Users can exchange passwords or cryptographic keys with friends to form a decentralized network.

Also called as friend-to-friend (F2F) or group-based systems.

Friend-to-friend systems only allow connections between users who know one another.

Group-based networks allow any user to connect to any other, and thus they cannot grow in size without compromising their users' privacy.

What Is File Sharing

Practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multi-media (audio, video), documents or electronic books.

May be implemented in a variety of storage, transmission, and distribution models.

Common methods are manual sharing using removable media, centralized computer file server installations on computer networks, World Wide Web-based hyperlinked documents, and the use of distributed peer-to-peer (P2P) networking.

Is File Sharing Illegal

Per se not illegal.

Increasing popularity of the MP3 music format in the late 1990s led to the release and growth of Napster and other software that aided the sharing of electronic files.

Led to a huge growth in illegal file sharing, the sharing of copyright protected files without permission.

Is P2P per se unlawful

Not per se unlawful

No infringement of copyright in merely using P2P software.

Nor will the use of P2P to share files involve a copyright infringement where the owner of copyright in the material being shared has consented to this.

Use of P2P to share or trade copyright works without the consent of license of the copyright owner has the potential to give rise to an action for infringement of copyright.

No infringement of copyright in merely using P2P software. This is because the software is in most cases made available freely by the owners of copyright in circumstances giving rise to an implied license. Of course, if this is not the case then mere use of the software without license may infringe copyright in the software. Nor will the use of P2P to share files involve a copyright infringement where the owner of copyright in the material being shared has consented to this. For example, academics and students may use P2P to share their work in order that others can provide critical comment. A lecturer might use P2P to make material available to his or her students. It is the use of P2P to share or trade copyright works without the consent of license of the copyright owner that has the potential to give rise to an action for infringement of copyright. The reason for this as will be discussed in more details below is that merely making copyright material available on a server in a form in which it can be accessed by others will, in most cases, amount to an exercise of the copyright owners right of communication to the public as well as an exercise of the reproduction right (ie in making the electronic copy which is communicated to others)

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Ohio v. Perry

Uploading = copying

Downloading = copying

Unauthorized copying = unauthorized use that is governed by the copyright laws.

Therefore, unauthorized uploading and unauthorized downloading are unauthorized uses governed by the copyright laws

What is Permissible..

To download music from sites authorized by the owners of the copyrighted music, whether or not such sites charge a fee

Technology has made digital copying easier than ever. But just because advances in technology make it possible to copy music doesnt mean its legal to do so. Here are tips from some record labels on how to enjoy the music while respecting rights of others in the digital world. Stick with these, and youll be doing right by the people who created the music.Internet Copying

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Not Permissible..

download unauthorized music from pirate sites (web or FTP) or peer-to-peer systems. Examples of peer-to-peer systems making unauthorized music available for download include: Kazaa, Grokster, WinMX, LimeWire, Bearshare, Aimster, Morpheus, and Gnutella.

to make unauthorized copies of music available to others (that is, uploading music) on peer-to-peer systems.

to copy music onto an analog cassette, but not for commercial purposes.

to copy music onto special Audio CD-Rs, mini-discs, and digital tapes (because royalties have been paid on them) but, again, not for commercial purposes.

theres no legal "right" to copy the copyrighted music on a CD onto a CD-R. However, burning a copy of CD onto a CD-R, or transferring a copy onto your computer hard drive or your portable music player, wont usually raise concerns so long as:

The copy is made from an authorized original CD that you legitimately own

The copy is just for your personal use. Its not a personal use in fact, its illegal to give away the copy or lend it to others for copying.

The owners of copyrighted music have the right to use protection technology to allow or prevent copying.

its never okay to sell or make commercial use of a copy that you make.

Its never okay to download unauthorized music from pirate sites (web or FTP) or peer-to-peer systems. Examples of peer-to-peer systems making unauthorized music available for download include: Kazaa, Grokster, WinMX, LimeWire, Bearshare, Aimster, Morpheus, and Gnutella.

Its never okay to make unauthorized copies of music available to others (that is, uploading music) on peer-to-peer systems.

Its okay to copy music onto an analog cassette, but not for commercial purposes.

Its also okay to copy music onto special Audio CD-Rs, mini-discs, and digital tapes (because royalties have been paid on them) but, again, not for commercial purposes.

Beyond that, theres no legal "right" to copy the copyrighted music on a CD onto a CD-R. However, burning a copy of CD onto a CD-R, or transferring a copy onto your computer hard drive or your portable music player, wont usually raise concerns so long as:

The copy is made from an authorized original CD that you legitimately own

The copy is just for your personal use. Its not a personal use in fact, its illegal to give away the copy or lend it to others for copying.

The owners of copyrighted music have the right to use protection technology to allow or prevent copying.

Remember, its never okay to sell or make commercial use of a copy that you make.

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WHAT IS BIT TORRENT AND HOW DOES IT WORK ?

A peer-to-peer sharing protocol used for distributing large amounts of data.

Allows users to distribute large amounts of data without the heavy demands on their computers that would be needed for standard Internet hosting.

This distributed nature of BitTorrent leads to a flood like spreading of a file throughout peers.

Relative to standard Internet hosting, this provides a significant reduction in the original distributor's hardware and bandwidth resource costs.

Also provides redundancy against system problems, reduces dependence on the original distributor and provides a source for the file which is generally temporary and therefore harder to trace than when provided by the enduring availability of a host in standard file distribution techniques.

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer sharing protocol used for distributing large amounts of data. BitTorrent protocol allows users to distribute large amounts of data without the heavy demands on their computers that would be needed for standard Internet hosting. A standard host's servers can easily be brought to a halt if high levels of simultaneous data flow are reached. The protocol works as an alternative data distribution method that makes even small computers (e.g. mobile phones) with low bandwidth capable of participating in large data transfers.First, a user playing the role of file-provider makes a file available to the network. This first user's file is called a seed and its availability on the network allows other users, called peers, to connect and begin to download the seed file. As new peers connect to the network and request the same file, their computer receives a different piece of the data from the seed. Once multiple peers have multiple pieces of the seed, BitTorrent allows each to become a source for that portion of the file. The effect of this is to take on a small part of the task and relieve the initial user, distributing the file download task among the seed and many peers. With BitTorrent, no one computer needs to supply data in quantities which could jeopardize the task by overwhelming all resources, yet the same final resulteach peer eventually receiving the entire fileis still reached.After the file is successfully and completely downloaded by a given peer, the peer is able to shift roles and become an additional seed, helping the remaining peers to receive the entire file. This eventual shift from peers to seeders determines the overall 'health' of the file (as determined by the number of times a file is available in its complete form).This distributed nature of BitTorrent leads to a flood like spreading of a file throughout peers. As more peers join the swarm, the likelihood of a successful download increases. Relative to standard Internet hosting, this provides a significant reduction in the original distributor's hardware and bandwidth resource costs. It also provides redundancy against system problems, reduces dependence on the original distributor and provides a source for the file which is generally temporary and therefore harder to trace than when provided by the enduring availability of a host in standard file distribution techniques.

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WHAT CONSTITUTES INFRINGEMENT

MGM et al v. Grokster et. Al.

"One who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright...is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties using the device".

Is the distributor of file-sharing software, which is used for the unauthorized sharing of copyright-protected files, liable for the copyright infringement resulting from such act? The United States Supreme Court answered: Yes, if such distributor took active steps to encourage the infringing use.

A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.

The music industry made the following claims against Napster:

a. That its users were directly infringing the plaintiff's copyright;

b. That Napster was liable for contributory infringement of the plaintiff's copyright; and

c. That Napster was liable for vicarious infringement of the plaintiff's copyright.

Napster lost the case in the District Court and appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Napster was unable to follow District courts direction and so shut down its service in July 2001. Napster finally declared itself bankrupt in 2002 and sold its assets.

In 2000, A&M Records and several other recording companies sued Napster (A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.) for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The music industry made the following claims against Napster: a. That its users were directly infringing the plaintiff's copyright; b. That Napster was liable for contributory infringement of the plaintiff's copyright; and c. That Napster was liable for vicarious infringement of the plaintiff's copyright. Napster lost the case in the District Court and appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Although the Ninth Circuit found that Napster was capable of commercially significant non-infringing uses, it affirmed the District Court's decision. On remand, the District Court ordered Napster to monitor the activities of its network and to block access to infringing material when notified of that material's location. Napster was unable to do this, and so shut down its service in July 2001. Napster finally declared itself bankrupt in 2002 and sold its assets.

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MGM et al v. Grokster et. Al

Twenty-eight movie studios, music companies and other copyright holders, headed by MGM studios, filed suit against Grokster and Streamcast for copyright infringement. Grokster and Streamcast distributed file-sharing software which was used for sharing many copyright-protected music and movie files via peer-to-peer networks.MGM et. al argued that Grokster and Streamcast are liable for the copyright infringement carried out by the users of their software under a secondary liability theory of "contributory infringement". They moved for damages and an injunction. The US Supreme Court held that Grokster and Streamcast are liable for copyright infringement caused by the users of the software because they distributed the software with the object of promoting its use for infringing copyright. In doing sothey induced the users to infringe the rights.

COPYRIGHT IN BLOGS

Do use material under public domain

Do quote something you find interesting

Do use facts and ideas

Do use other materials that are not subject to copyright

Do use a company name or logo if you are talking about it

Do use a company name on your domain

DontS

Dont assume that if you credit the author there is no copyright infringement ONLY WITH PERMISSION OR FAIR USE

Dont copy material just because it does not show a copyright message

Dont equate Creative Commons with free for grab

Dont copy material just because you are not making a commercial use

Dont assume that if you remove the copyrighted material you will be out of trouble

Dont copy material just because you cant find a copyright holder

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