9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 1/19

CopyrightFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Copyright is a legal right created by the law of a country, that grants the creator of an original workexclusive rights to its use and distribution, usually for a limited time, with the intention of enabling thecreator (e.g. the photographer of a photograph or the author of a book) to receive compensation for theirintellectual effort.

Copyright is a form of intellectual property (as patents, trademarks and trade secrets are), applicable to anyexpressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete.[1] It is often shared, thenpercentage holders are commonly called rightsholders: legally, contractually and in associated "rights"business functions. Generally rightsholders have "the right to copy", but also the right to be credited for thework, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who mayfinancially benefit from it, and other related rights.

Copyright initially was conceived as a way for government to restrict printing; the contemporary intent ofcopyright is to promote the creation of new works by giving authors control of and profit from them.Copyrights are said to be territorial, which means that they do not extend beyond the territory of a specificstate unless that state is a party to an international agreement. Today, however, this is less relevant sincemost countries are parties to at least one such agreement. While many aspects of national copyright lawshave been standardized through international copyright agreements, copyright laws of most countries havesome unique features.[2] Typically, the duration of copyright is the whole life of the creator plus fifty to ahundred years from the creator's death, or a finite period for anonymous or corporate creations. Somejurisdictions have required formalities to establishing copyright, but most recognize copyright in anycompleted work, without formal registration. Generally, copyright is enforced as a civil matter, thoughsome jurisdictions do apply criminal sanctions.

Most jurisdictions recognize copyright limitations, allowing "fair" exceptions to the creator's exclusivity ofcopyright, and giving users certain rights. The development of digital media and computer networktechnologies have prompted reinterpretation of these exceptions, introduced new difficulties in enforcingcopyright, and inspired additional challenges to copyright law's philosophic basis. Simultaneously,businesses with great economic dependence upon copyright, such as those in the music business, haveadvocated the extension and expansion of their intellectual property rights, and sought additional legal andtechnological enforcement.

Contents

1 Justification2 History3 Scope4 Obtaining and enforcing copyright

4.1 Cost of enforcing copyright4.2 Copyright notices in the United States

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 2/19

4.3 "Poor man's copyright"5 Exclusive rights

5.1 Useful articles6 Limitations and exceptions to copyright

6.1 Idea–expression dichotomy and the merger doctrine6.2 The first-sale doctrine and exhaustion of rights6.3 Fair use and fair dealing6.4 Accessible copies

7 Transfer and licensing, and assignment7.1 Free licences

8 Duration8.1 Copyright term8.2 Public domain

9 Copyright infringement10 See also

10.1 Treaties and international agreements10.2 Alternate views

11 References12 Further reading13 External links

Justification

The usual justification of copyright is to enable creators of intellectual wealth to financially supportthemselves and give them a motive to continue publishing their creations. Without copyright, artists,authors, journalists, photographers, or anyone else who creates non-material economic wealth would haveto find another way to support themselves. For example, they could publish a small subset of their creationsand then request payment before they published more (also see the street performer protocol). In a capitalisteconomic system, food and housing cost money; so authors, directors, painters, photographers, poets andother creators must find other jobs to support themselves if they can't get compensated for their creativework. With copyright in place, the author of a book or the photographer of a photograph can charge userswho want to get a copy of their creations and thus support themselves. Before copyright, authors generallyrequested a large-sum one-off payment from the printer of their book before publishing it. With copyrightin place, and assuming efficient enforcement, authors, photographers and other intellectual workers canpublish their creations immediately and wait for licensing requests from people who want to use or re-publish their works. Examples of this model for funding photography are Alamy, Corbis, Getty Images, andother stock photography image banks).

Anti-copyright critics claim copyright law protects corporate interests while criminalizing legitimate uses,while proponents argue the law is fair and just, protecting the interest of the creator.[3]

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 3/19

The Statute of Anne came into forcein 1710.

History

Copyright came about with the invention of the printing press and with wider public literacy. As a legalconcept, its origins in Britain were from a reaction to printers' monopolies at the beginning of the18th century. Charles II of England was concerned by the unregulated copying of books and passed theLicensing of the Press Act 1662 by Act of Parliament,[4] which established a register of licensed books andrequired a copy to be deposited with the Stationers' Company, essentially continuing the licensing ofmaterial that had long been in effect.

The British Statute of Anne (1710) further alluded to individualrights of the artist. It began, "Whereas Printers, Booksellers, andother Persons, have of late frequently taken the Liberty of Printing...Books, and other Writings, without the Consent of the Authors... totheir very great Detriment, and too often to the Ruin of them andtheir Families:".[5] A right to benefit financially from the work isarticulated, and court rulings and legislation have recognized a rightto control the work, such as ensuring that the integrity of it ispreserved. An irrevocable right to be recognized as the work'screator appears in some countries' copyright laws.

Copyright laws allow products of creative human activities, such asliterary and artistic production, to be preferentially exploited andthus incentivized. Different cultural attitudes, social organizations,economic models and legal frameworks are seen to account for whycopyright emerged in Europe and not, for example, in Asia. In theMiddle Ages in Europe, there was generally a lack of any concept of

literary property due to the general relations of production, the specific organization of literary productionand the role of culture in society. The latter refers to the tendency of oral societies, such as that of Europe inthe medieval period, to view knowledge as the product and expression of the collective, rather than to see itas individual property. However, with copyright laws, intellectual production comes to be seen as a productof an individual, with attendant rights. The most significant point is that patent and copyright laws supportthe expansion of the range of creative human activities that can be commodified. This parallels the ways inwhich capitalism led to the commodification of many aspects of social life that earlier had no monetary oreconomic value per se.[6]

The Statute of Anne was the first real copyright act, and gave the publishers rights for a fixed period, afterwhich the copyright expired.[7] Copyright has grown from a legal concept regulating copying rights in thepublishing of books and maps to one with a significant effect on nearly every modern industry, coveringsuch items as sound recordings, films, photographs, software, and architectural works.

Prior to the passage of the United States Constitution, several states passed their own copyright lawsbetween 1783 and 1787, the first being Connecticut.[8] Contemporary scholars and patriots such as NoahWebster, John Trumbull (poet), and Joel Barlow were instrumental in securing the passage of thesestatutes.[8]

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 4/19

The Copyright Act of 1790 in theColumbian Centinel.

The Pirate Publisher—An International Burlesquethat has the Longest Run on Record, from Puck,1886, satirizes the then-existing situation where apublisher could profit by simply stealing newlypublished works from one country, and publishingthem in another, and vice-versa.

The Copyright Clause of the United States Constitution (1787) authorized copyright legislation: "Topromote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing forlimited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to theirrespective Writings and Discoveries." That is, by guaranteeing thema period of time in which they alone could profit from their works,they would be enabled and encouraged to invest the time required tocreate them, and this would be good for society as a whole. A rightto profit from the work has been the philosophical underpinning formuch legislation extending the duration of copyright, to the life ofthe creator and beyond, to their heirs.

The original length of copyright in the United States was 14 years,and it had to be explicitly applied for. If the author wished, theycould apply for a second 14‑year monopoly grant, but after that thework entered the public domain, so it could be used and built uponby others.

Thomas Jefferson, who strongly advocated the ability of the publicto share and build upon the works of others, proposed as part of theBill of Rights that a short timespan be protected:

Art. 9. Monopolies may be allowed to persons for their ownproductions in literature and their own inventions in the artsfor a term not exceeding – years but for no longer term and no

other purpose.[9]

The 1886 Berne Convention first establishedrecognition of copyrights among sovereign nations,rather than merely bilaterally. Under the BerneConvention, copyrights for creative works do not haveto be asserted or declared, as they are automatically inforce at creation: an author need not "register" or "applyfor" a copyright in countries adhering to the BerneConvention.[10] As soon as a work is "fixed", that is,written or recorded on some physical medium, itsauthor is automatically entitled to all copyrights in thework, and to any derivative works unless and until theauthor explicitly disclaims them, or until the copyrightexpires. The Berne Convention also resulted in foreignauthors being treated equivalently to domestic authors,in any country signed onto the Convention. The UKsigned the Berne Convention in 1887 but did notimplement large parts of it until 100 years later with thepassage of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of1988. The United States did not sign the BerneConvention until 1989.[11]

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 5/19

The United States and most Latin American countries instead entered into the Buenos Aires Convention in1910, which required a copyright notice on the work (such as all rights reserved), and permitted signatorynations to limit the duration of copyrights to shorter and renewable terms.[12][13][14] The UniversalCopyright Convention was drafted in 1952 as another less demanding alternative to the Berne Convention,and ratified by nations such as the Soviet Union and developing nations.

The regulations of the Berne Convention are incorporated into the World Trade Organization's TRIPSagreement (1995), thus giving the Berne Convention effectively near-global application.[15] The 2002WIPO Copyright Treaty enacted greater restrictions on the use of technology to copy works in the nationsthat ratified it.

Scope

Copyright may apply to a wide range of creative, intellectual, or artistic forms, or "works". Specifics varyby jurisdiction, but these can include poems, theses, plays and other literary works, motion pictures,choreography, musical compositions, sound recordings, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs,computer software, radio and television broadcasts, and industrial designs. Graphic designs and industrialdesigns may have separate or overlapping laws applied to them in some jurisdictions.[16][17]

Copyright does not cover ideas and information themselves, only the form or manner in which they areexpressed.[18] For example, the copyright to a Mickey Mouse cartoon restricts others from making copies ofthe cartoon or creating derivative works based on Disney's particular anthropomorphic mouse, but does notprohibit the creation of other works about anthropomorphic mice in general, so long as they are differentenough to not be judged copies of Disney's.[18] Note additionally that Mickey Mouse is not copyrightedbecause characters cannot be copyrighted; rather, Steamboat Willie is copyrighted and Mickey Mouse, as acharacter in that copyrighted work, is afforded protection. In many jurisdictions, copyright law makesexceptions to these restrictions when the work is copied for the purpose of commentary or other related uses(See fair use, fair dealing). Meanwhile, other laws may impose additional restrictions that copyright doesnot – such as trademarks and patents.

Copyright laws are standardized somewhat through international conventions such as the Berne Conventionand Universal Copyright Convention. These multilateral treaties have been ratified by nearly all countries,and international organizations such as the European Union or World Trade Organization require theirmember states to comply with them.

Obtaining and enforcing copyright

Typically, a work must meet minimal standards of originality in order to qualify for copyright, and thecopyright expires after a set period of time (some jurisdictions may allow this to be extended). Differentcountries impose different tests, although generally the requirements are low; in the United Kingdom therehas to be some 'skill, labour, and judgment' that has gone into it.[19] In Australia and the United Kingdom ithas been held that a single word is insufficient to comprise a copyright work. However, single words or ashort string of words can sometimes be registered as a trademark instead.

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 6/19

A copyright certificate for proof ofthe Fermat theorem, issued by theState Department of IntellectualProperty of Ukraine.

Copyright law recognizes the right of an author based on whether the work actually is an original creation,rather than based on whether it is unique; two authors may own copyright on two substantially identicalworks, if it is determined that the duplication was coincidental, and neither was copied from the other.

In all countries where the Berne Convention standards apply, copyright is automatic, and need not beobtained through official registration with any government office. Once an idea has been reduced totangible form, for example by securing it in a fixed medium (such as a drawing, sheet music, photograph, avideotape, or a computer file), the copyright holder is entitled to enforce his or her exclusive rights.[10]

However, while registration isn't needed to exercise copyright, in jurisdictions where the laws provide forregistration, it serves as prima facie evidence of a valid copyrightand enables the copyright holder to seek statutory damages andattorney's fees. (In the USA, registering after an infringement onlyenables one to receive actual damages and lost profits.)

The original holder of the copyright may be the employer of theauthor rather than the author himself, if the work is a "work forhire".[20] For example, in English law the Copyright, Designs andPatents Act 1988 provides that if a copyrighted work is made by anemployee in the course of that employment, the copyright isautomatically owned by the employer which would be a "Work forHire."

Copyrights are generally enforced by the holder in a civil law court,but there are also criminal infringement statutes in somejurisdictions. While central registries are kept in some countrieswhich aid in proving claims of ownership, registering does notnecessarily prove ownership, nor does the fact of copying (evenwithout permission) necessarily prove that copyright was infringed.Criminal sanctions are generally aimed at serious counterfeitingactivity, but are now becoming more commonplace as copyrightcollectives such as the RIAA are increasingly targeting the filesharing home Internet user. Thus far, however, most such cases

against file sharers have been settled out of court. (See: Legal aspects of file sharing)

Cost of enforcing copyright

In most jurisdictions the copyright holder must bear the cost of enforcing copyright. This will usuallyinvolve engaging legal representation, administrative and or court costs. These costs, including time, shouldbe taken into consideration when evaluating the benefits of enforcing copyright. In light of this, manycopyright disputes are settled by a direct approach to the infringing party in order to settle the dispute out ofcourt.

Copyright notices in the United States

Before 1989, the use of a copyright notice – consisting of the copyright symbol (©, the letter C inside acircle), the abbreviation "Copr.", or the word "Copyright", followed by the year of the first publication ofthe work and the name of the copyright holder – was part of U. S. statutory requirements.[21][22] Several

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 7/19

A copyright symbol used incopyright notice.

years may be noted if the work has gone through substantial revisions. The proper copyright notice forsound recordings of musical or other audio works is a sound recording copyright symbol (℗, the letter Pinside a circle), which indicates a sound recording copyright, with the letter P indicating a "phonorecord".Similarly, the phrase All rights reserved was once required to assertcopyright.

In 1989 the United States enacted the Berne Convention ImplementationAct, amending the 1976 Copyright Act to conform to most of the provisionsof the Berne Convention. As a result, the use of copyright notices hasbecome optional to claim copyright, because the Berne Convention makescopyright automatic.[23] However, the lack of notice of copyright usingthese marks may have consequences in terms of reduced damages in aninfringement lawsuit – using notices of this form may reduce the likelihoodof a defense of "innocent infringement" being successful.[24]

"Poor man's copyright"

A widely circulated strategy to avoid the cost of copyright registration is referred to as the "poor man'scopyright". It proposes that the creator send the work to himself in a sealed envelope by registered mail,using the postmark to establish the date. This technique has not been recognized in any published opinionsof the United States courts. The United States Copyright Office makes it clear that the technique is nosubstitute for actual registration.[25] The United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office discusses thetechnique and notes that the technique (as well as commercial registries) does not constitute dispositiveproof that the work is original nor who the creator of the work is.[26][27]

Exclusive rights

Several exclusive rights typically attach to the holder of a copyright:

to produce copies or reproductions of the work and to sell those copies (including, typically,electronic copies)to import or export the workto create derivative works (works that adapt the original work)to perform or display the work publiclyto sell or cede these rights to others

to transmit or display by radio or video.[28]

The phrase "exclusive right" means that only the copyright holder is free to exercise those rights, and othersare prohibited from using the work without the holder's permission. Copyright is sometimes called a"negative right", as it serves to prohibit certain people (e.g., readers, viewers, or listeners, and primarilypublishers and would be publishers) from doing something they would otherwise be able to do, rather thanpermitting people (e.g., authors) to do something they would otherwise be unable to do. In this way it issimilar to the unregistered design right in English law and European law. The rights of the copyright holderalso permit him/her to not use or exploit their copyright, for some or all of the term. There is, however, a

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 8/19

critique which rejects this assertion as being based on a philosophical interpretation of copyright law that isnot universally shared. There is also debate on whether copyright should be considered a property right or amoral right.[29]

Useful articles

If a pictorial, graphic or sculptural work is a useful article, it is copyrighted only if its aesthetic features areseparable from its utilitarian features. A useful article is an article having an intrinsic utilitarian functionthat is not merely to portray the appearance of the article or to convey information. They must be separablefrom the functional aspect to be copyrighted.[30]

Limitations and exceptions to copyright

Idea–expression dichotomy and the merger doctrine

The idea–expression divide differentiates between ideas and expression, and states that copyright protectsonly the original expression of ideas, and not the ideas themselves. This principle, first clarified in the 1879case of Baker v. Selden, has since been codified by the Copyright Act of 1976 at 17 U.S.C. § 102(b).

The first-sale doctrine and exhaustion of rights

Copyright law does not restrict the owner of a copy from reselling legitimately obtained copies ofcopyrighted works, provided that those copies were originally produced by or with the permission of thecopyright holder. It is therefore legal, for example, to resell a copyrighted book or CD. In the United Statesthis is known as the first-sale doctrine, and was established by the courts to clarify the legality of resellingbooks in second-hand bookstores. Some countries may have parallel importation restrictions that allow thecopyright holder to control the aftermarket. This may mean for example that a copy of a book that does notinfringe copyright in the country where it was printed does infringe copyright in a country into which it isimported for retailing. The first-sale doctrine is known as exhaustion of rights in other countries and is aprinciple which also applies, though somewhat differently, to patent and trademark rights. It is important tonote that the first-sale doctrine permits the transfer of the particular legitimate copy involved. It does notpermit making or distributing additional copies.

In addition, copyright, in most cases, does not prohibit one from acts such as modifying, defacing, ordestroying his or her own legitimately obtained copy of a copyrighted work, so long as duplication is notinvolved. However, in countries that implement moral rights, a copyright holder can in some casessuccessfully prevent the mutilation or destruction of a work that is publicly visible.

Fair use and fair dealing

Copyright does not prohibit all copying or replication. In the United States, the fair use doctrine, codifiedby the Copyright Act of 1976 as 17 U.S.C. Section 107, permits some copying and distribution withoutpermission of the copyright holder or payment to same. The statute does not clearly define fair use, butinstead gives four non-exclusive factors to consider in a fair use analysis. Those factors are:

1. the purpose and character of one's use

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 9/19

2. the nature of the copyrighted work3. what amount and proportion of the whole work was taken, and

4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.[31]

In the United Kingdom and many other Commonwealth countries, a similar notion of fair dealing wasestablished by the courts or through legislation. The concept is sometimes not well defined; however inCanada, private copying for personal use has been expressly permitted by statute since 1999. In Alberta(Education) v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright), 2012 SCC 37, the SupremeCourt of Canada concluded that limited copying for educational purposes could also be justified under thefair dealing exemption. In Australia, the fair dealing exceptions under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) are alimited set of circumstances under which copyrighted material can be legally copied or adapted without thecopyright holder's consent. Fair dealing uses are research and study; review and critique; news reportageand the giving of professional advice (i.e. legal advice). Under current Australian law it is still a breach ofcopyright to copy, reproduce or adapt copyright material for personal or private use without permissionfrom the copyright owner. Other technical exemptions from infringement may also apply, such as thetemporary reproduction of a work in machine readable form for a computer.

In the United States the AHRA (Audio Home Recording Act Codified in Section 10, 1992) prohibits actionagainst consumers making noncommercial recordings of music, in return for royalties on both media anddevices plus mandatory copy-control mechanisms on recorders.

Section 1008. Prohibition on certain infringement actions

No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright based on themanufacture, importation, or distribution of a digital audio recording device, a digital audiorecording medium, an analog recording device, or an analog recording medium, or based on thenoncommercial use by a consumer of such a device or medium for making digital musical recordingsor analog musical recordings.

Later acts amended US Copyright law so that for certain purposes making 10 copies or more is construed tobe commercial, but there is no general rule permitting such copying. Indeed making one complete copy of awork, or in many cases using a portion of it, for commercial purposes will not be considered fair use. TheDigital Millennium Copyright Act prohibits the manufacture, importation, or distribution of devices whoseintended use, or only significant commercial use, is to bypass an access or copy control put in place by acopyright owner.[16] An appellate court has held that fair use is not a defense to engaging in suchdistribution.

Accessible copies

It is legal in several countries including the United Kingdom and the United States to produce alternativeversions (for example, in large print or braille) of a copyrighted work to provide improved access to a workfor blind and visually impaired persons without permission from the copyright holder.[32][33]

Transfer and licensing, and assignment

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 10/19

DVD: All Rights Reserved.

A copyright, or aspects of it, may be assigned ortransferred from one party to another.[34] For example,a musician who records an album will often sign anagreement with a record company in which themusician agrees to transfer all copyright in therecordings in exchange for royalties and otherconsiderations. The creator (and original copyrightholder) benefits, or expects to, from production andmarketing capabilities far beyond those of the author. Inthe digital age of music, music may be copied anddistributed at minimal cost through the Internet,however the record industry attempts to providepromotion and marketing for the artist and his or her work so it can reach a much larger audience. Acopyright holder need not transfer all rights completely, though many publishers will insist. Some of therights may be transferred, or else the copyright holder may grant another party a non-exclusive license tocopy and/or distribute the work in a particular region or for a specified period of time.

A transfer or licence may have to meet particular formal requirements in order to be effective,[35] forexample under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 the copyright itself must be expressly transferred inwriting. Under the U.S. Copyright Act, a transfer of ownership in copyright must be memorialized in awriting signed by the transferor. For that purpose, ownership in copyright includes exclusive licenses ofrights. Thus exclusive licenses, to be effective, must be granted in a written instrument signed by thegrantor. No special form of transfer or grant is required. A simple document that identifies the workinvolved and the rights being granted is sufficient. Non-exclusive grants (often called non-exclusivelicenses) need not be in writing under U.S. law. They can be oral or even implied by the behavior of theparties. Transfers of copyright ownership, including exclusive licenses, may and should be recorded in theU.S. Copyright Office. (Information on recording transfers is available on the Office's web site.) Whilerecording is not required to make the grant effective, it offers important benefits, much like those obtainedby recording a deed in a real estate transaction.

Copyright may also be licensed.[34] Some jurisdictions may provide that certain classes of copyrightedworks be made available under a prescribed statutory license (e.g. musical works in the United States usedfor radio broadcast or performance). This is also called a compulsory license, because under this scheme,anyone who wishes to copy a covered work does not need the permission of the copyright holder, butinstead merely files the proper notice and pays a set fee established by statute (or by an agency decisionunder statutory guidance) for every copy made.[36] Failure to follow the proper procedures would place thecopier at risk of an infringement suit. Because of the difficulty of following every individual work,copyright collectives or collecting societies and performing rights organizations (such as ASCAP, BMI, andSESAC) have been formed to collect royalties for hundreds (thousands and more) works at once. Thoughthis market solution bypasses the statutory license, the availability of the statutory fee still helps dictate theprice per work collective rights organizations charge, driving it down to what avoidance of proceduralhassle would justify.

Free licences

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 11/19

Expansion of U.S. copyright law (Assuming authorscreate their works at age 35 and live for seventyyears).

There are a large number of free licenses, where users are granted several rights, for example those mentionin the Free Software Definition, Open Source Definition, Debian Free Software Guidelines or Definition ofFree Cultural Works. Examples of free licences are the GNU General Public License, BSD license andsome Creative Commons licenses.

Founded in 2001, by James Boyle, Lawrence Lessig, and Hal Abelson the Creative Commons (CC) is anon-profit organization[37] which aims to facilitate the legal sharing of creative works. To this end, theorganization provides a number of copyright license options to the public, free of charge. These licensesallow copyright holders to define conditions under which others may use a work and to specify what typesof use are acceptable.[37]

Terms of use have traditionally been negotiated on an individual basis between copyright holder andpotential licensee. Therefore, a general CC license outlining which rights the copyright holder is willing towaive enables the general public to use such works more freely. Six general types of CC licenses areavailable. These are based upon copyright holder stipulations such as whether he or she is willing to allowmodifications to the work, whether he or she permits the creation of derivative works and whether he or sheis willing to permit commercial use of the work.[38] As of 2009 approximately 130 million individuals hadreceived such licenses.[38]

Duration

Copyright term

Copyright subsists for a variety of lengths in differentjurisdictions. The length of the term can depend onseveral factors, including the type of work (e.g. musicalcomposition, novel), whether the work has beenpublished, and whether the work was created by anindividual or a corporation. In most of the world, thedefault length of copyright is the life of the author pluseither 50 or 70 years. In the United States, the term formost existing works is a fixed number of years after thedate of creation or publication. Under most countries'laws (for example, the United States[39] and the UnitedKingdom[40]), copyrights expire at the end of thecalendar year in question.

The length and requirements for copyright duration aresubject to change by legislation, and since the early 20th century there have been a number of adjustmentsmade in various countries, which can make determining the duration of a given copyright somewhatdifficult. For example, the United States used to require copyrights to be renewed after 28 years to stay inforce, and formerly required a copyright notice upon first publication to gain coverage. In Italy and France,there were post-wartime extensions that could increase the term by approximately 6 years in Italy and up toabout 14 in France. Many countries have extended the length of their copyright terms (sometimesretroactively). International treaties establish minimum terms for copyrights, but individual countries mayenforce longer terms than those.[41]

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 12/19

In the United States, all books and other works published before 1923 have expired copyrights and are inthe public domain.[42] In addition, works published before 1964 that did not have their copyrights renewed28 years after first publication year also are in the public domain, except that books originally publishedoutside the US by non-Americans are exempt from this requirement, if they are still under copyright in theirhome country.

But if the intended exploitation of the work includes publication (or distribution of derivative work, such asa film based on a book protected by copyright) outside the U.S., the terms of copyright around the worldmust be considered. If the author has been dead more than 70 years, the work is in the public domain inmost, but not all, countries.

In 1998 the length of a copyright in the United States was increased by 20 years under the Copyright TermExtension Act. This legislation was strongly promoted by corporations which had valuable copyrightswhich otherwise would have expired, and has been the subject of substantial criticism on this point.[43]

As a curiosity, the famous work Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up has a complex – anddisputed – story of copyright expiry.[44]

Public domain

Copyright, like other intellectual property rights, is subject to a statutorily determined term. Once the termof a copyright has expired, the formerly copyrighted work enters the public domain and may be freely usedor exploited by anyone. Courts in common law countries, such as the United States and the UnitedKingdom, have rejected the doctrine of a common law copyright. Public domain works should not beconfused with works that are publicly available. Works posted in the internet, for example, are publiclyavailable, but are not generally in the public domain. Copying such works may therefore violate the author'scopyright.

Copyright infringement

The illegitimate use of materials held by copyright is typically referred to as piracy.[45] For a work to beconsidered pirated, its illegitimate use must have occurred in a nation that has domestic copyright lawsand/or adheres to a bilateral treaty or established international convention such as the Berne Convention orWIPO Copyright Treaty. Improper use of materials outside of this legislation is deemed "unauthorizededition", not piracy.[46]

Piracy primarily targets software, film and music. However, the illegal copying of books and other textworks remains common, especially for educational reasons. Statistics regarding the effects of piracy aredifficult to determine. Studies have attempted to estimate a monetary loss for industries affected by piracyby predicting what portion of pirated works would have been formally purchased if they had not been freelyavailable.[47] Estimates in 2007 stated 18.2 billion potential losses in consumer dollars lost as a result ofpiracy activities in the United States.[48] International estimates suggest losses in the billions throughout thelast decade.[48] However other reports indicate that piracy does not have an adverse effect on theentertainment industry.[49]

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 13/19

A 2014 University study concluded that free music content, accessed on YouTube, does not necessarily hurtsales, instead has the potential to increase sales.[50]

See also

Treaties and international agreements

Adelphi CharterConflict of lawsCopyright in architecture in the United StatesCopyright on the content of patents and in the context of patent prosecutionCopyright for CreativityCopyright infringement of softwareCopyright on religious worksCreative BarcodeDigital rights managementDigital watermarkingEntertainment lawFreedom of panoramaHistory of copyright lawIntellectual property educationIntellectual property protection of typefacesList of Copyright ActsList of copyright case lawList of parties to international copyright agreementsModel releaseParacopyrightPhotography and the lawPirate PartyPrivate copying levyProduction musicRent-seekingReproduction feesRiP!: A Remix ManifestoSoftware copyrightThreshold pledge system

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 14/19

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works of 1886Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and BroadcastingOrganizations of 1961Trans-Pacific PartnershipTrans-Pacific Partnership Intellectual Property Provisions

Universal Copyright Convention of 1952World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty of 1996WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty of 1996The World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights(TRIPS), of 1994

Alternate views

References

Alternative compensation systemAnti-copyrightCopyleftCopynormsCopyright aspects of downloading and streamingCopyright aspects of hyperlinking and framingCreative CommonsCreative Commons jurisdiction portsCreative Commons licenseCrypto-anarchismDatabase rightDigital rightsFree Culture, a 2004 book by Lawrence LessigGood Copy Bad Copy (documentary)Permission culture – neologism by Lawrence Lessig

1. ^ World Intellectual Property Organization. "Understanding Copyright and Related Rights"(http://www.wipo.int/freepublications/en/intproperty/909/wipo_pub_909.pdf) (PDF). WIPO. pp. 6–7. RetrievedAugust 2008.

2. ^ "International Copyright Law Survey" (http://worldcopyrightlaw.com/copyrightsurvey). Mincov LawCorporation.

3. ^ Boyle, James (1996). Shamans, Software and Spleens: Law and the Construction of the Information Society.

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 15/19

Harvard University Press. p. 142. ISBN 0-674-80522-4.4. ^ Copyright in Historical Perspective, p. 136-137, Patterson, 1968, Vanderbilt Univ. Press5. ^ "Statute of Anne" (http://www.copyrighthistory.com/anne.html). Copyrighthistory.com. Retrieved 2012-06-08.6. ^ Bettig, Ronald V. (1996). Copyrighting Culture: The Political Economy of Intellectual Property. Westview

Press. p. 9–17. ISBN 0-8133-1385-6.7. ^ Ronan, Deazley (2006). Rethinking copyright: history, theory, language

(https://web.archive.org/web/20110623191632/http://www.google.com/books?id=dMYXq9V1JBQC&dq=statute+of+anne+copyright&lr=&as_brr=3&source=gbs_navlinks_s). Edward ElgarPublishing. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-84542-282-0.

8. ^ a b Pelanda, Brian. Declarations of Cultural Independence: The Nationalistic Imperative Behind the Passage ofEarly American Copyright Laws, 1783–1787 (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1941506) 58Journal of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. 431 (2011).

9. ^ About Stephan Kinsella (174 Posts) (2011-12-01). "Thomas Jefferson’s Proposal to Limit the Length ofPatent and Copyright in the Bill of Rights" (http://www.libertarianstandard.com/2011/12/01/thomas-jeffersons-proposal-to-limit-the-length-of-patent-and-copyright-in-the-bill-of-rights/). Libertarianstandard.com. Retrieved2012-06-08.

10. ^ a b "Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Article 5"(http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/trtdocs_wo001.html#P109_16834). World Intellectual PropertyOrganization. Retrieved 2011-11-18.

11. ^ Garfinkle, Ann M; Fries, Janet; Lopez, Daniel; Possessky, Laura (1997). "Art conservation and the legalobligation to preserve artistic intent". JAIC 36 (2): 165–179.

12. ^ International Copyright Relations of the United States (http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ38a.pdf)",U.S. Copyright Office Circular No. 38a, August 2003.

13. ^ Parties to the Geneva Act of the Universal Copyright Convention(http://www.unesco.org/culture/copyright/html_eng/ucc52ms.pdf) as of 2000-01-01: the dates given in thedocument are dates of ratification, not dates of coming into force. The Geneva Act came into force on September16, 1955, for the first twelve to have ratified (which included four non-members of the Berne Union as requiredby Art. 9.1), or three months after ratification for other countries.

14. ^ 165 Parties to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works(http://www.copyright.ht/en) as of May 2012.

15. ^ MacQueen, Hector L; Charlotte Waelde and Graeme T Laurie (2007). Contemporary Intellectual Property:Law and Policy (http://www.google.com/books?id=_Iwcn4pT0OoC&dq=contemporary+intellectual+property&source=gbs_navlinks_s). Oxford UniversityPress. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-19-926339-4.

16. ^ a b Peter K, Yu (2007). Intellectual Property and Information Wealth: Copyright and related rights(http://www.google.com/books?id=tgK9BzcF5WgC&dq=statute+of+anne+copyright&lr=&as_brr=3&source=gbs_navlinks_s). GreenwoodPublishing Group. p. 346. ISBN 978-0-275-98883-8.

17. ^ World Intellectual Property Organization. "Understanding Copyright and Related Rights"(http://www.wipo.int/freepublications/en/intproperty/909/wipo_pub_909.pdf) (PDF). WIPO. p. 8. RetrievedAugust 2008.

18. ^ a b Simon, Stokes (2001). Art and copyright (http://www.google.com/books?id=h-XBqKIryaQC&dq=idea-

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 16/19

18. ^ a b Simon, Stokes (2001). Art and copyright (http://www.google.com/books?id=h-XBqKIryaQC&dq=idea-expression+dichotomy&lr=&as_brr=3&source=gbs_navlinks_s). Hart Publishing. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-1-84113-225-9.

19. ^ Express Newspaper Plc v News (UK) Plc, F.S.R. 36 (1991)20. ^ 17 U.S.C. § 201(b); Cmty. for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730 (1989)21. ^ Copyright Act of 1976, Pub.L. 94–553 (http://legislink.org/us/pl-94-553), 90 Stat. 2541, § 401(a) (October 19,

1976)22. ^ The Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 (BCIA), Pub.L. 100–568 (http://legislink.org/us/pl-100-

568), 102 Stat. 2853, 2857. One of the changes introduced by the BCIA was to section 401, which governscopyright notices on published copies, specifying that notices "may be placed on" such copies; prior to theBCIA, the statute read that notices "shall be placed on all" such copies. An analogous change was made insection 402, dealing with copyright notices on phonorecords.

23. ^ "U.S. Copyright Office – Information Circular" (http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ03.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved2012-07-07.

24. ^ 17 U.S.C.§ 401(d) (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/401(d).html)25. ^ Copyright in General – "I've heard about a 'poor man's copyright.' What is it?"

(http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#poorman), U.S Copyright Office26. ^ "Copyright Registers" (http://www.ipo.gov.uk/copy/c-claim/c-register.htm), United Kingdom Intellectual

Property Office27. ^ "Automatic right" (http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-about/c-auto.htm), United Kingdom Intellectual

Property Office28. ^ Peter K, Yu (2007). Intellectual Property and Information Wealth: Copyright and related rights. Greenwood

Publishing Group. p. 346. ISBN 978-0-275-98883-8.29. ^ Tom G. Palmer, "Are Patents and Copyrights Morally Justified?" (http://www.tomgpalmer.com/wp-

content/uploads/papers/morallyjustified.pdf) Accessed February 5, 2013.30. ^ "U.S Copyright Office – Copyright Law: Chapter 1" (http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.pdf).

Retrieved 2012-06-27.31. ^ "US CODE: Title 17,107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use"

(http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html). .law.cornell.edu. 2009-05-20. Retrieved 2009-06-16.32. ^ Copyright Law of the USA, Chapter 1 Section 121 (http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#121)33. ^ Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002 (England)

(http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_cvipsact2002.hcsp)

34. ^ a b WIPO Guide on the Licensing of Copyright and Related Rights (http://www.google.com/books?id=LvRRvXBIi8MC&dq=copyright+transfer+and+licensing&as_brr=3&source=gbs_navlinks_s). WorldIntellectual Property Organization. 2004. p. 15. ISBN 978-92-805-1271-7.

35. ^ WIPO Guide on the Licensing of Copyright and Related Rights (http://www.google.com/books?id=LvRRvXBIi8MC&dq=copyright+transfer+and+licensing&as_brr=3&source=gbs_navlinks_s). WorldIntellectual Property Organization. 2004. p. 8. ISBN 978-92-805-1271-7.

36. ^ WIPO Guide on the Licensing of Copyright and Related Rights (http://www.google.com/books?id=LvRRvXBIi8MC&dq=copyright+transfer+and+licensing&as_brr=3&source=gbs_navlinks_s). WorldIntellectual Property Organization. 2004. p. 16. ISBN 978-92-805-1271-7.

37. ^ a b Creative Commons Website http://creativecommons.org/ retrieved October 24, 2011.

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 17/19

Further reading

38. ^ a b Rubin, R. E. (2010) 'Foundations of Library and Information Science: Third Edition', Neal-SchumanPublishers, Inc., New York, p. 341

39. ^ 17 U.S.C. § 305 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/305.html)40. ^ The Duration of Copyright and Rights in Performances Regulations 1995, part II

(http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1995/Uksi_19953297_en_3.htm), Amendments of the UK Copyright, Designs andPatents Act 1988

41. ^ Nimmer, David (2003). Copyright: Sacred Text, Technology, and the DMCA (http://books.google.com/books?id=RYfRCNxgPO4C). Kluwer Law International. p. 63. ISBN 978-90-411-8876-2. OCLC 50606064(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50606064).

42. ^ "Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States(http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm).", Cornell University.

43. ^ Lawrence Lessig, Copyright's First Amendment, 48 UCLA L. Rev. 1057, 1065 (2001)44. ^ "Stanford Center for Internet and Society"

(http://web.archive.org/web/20061027134508/http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/about/cases/emily_somma_v_gosh_peter_.shtml). Web.archive.org. Archived from the original(http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/about/cases/emily_somma_v_gosh_peter_.shtml) on 2006-10-27. Retrieved 2010-05-08.

45. ^ Owen, Lynette (2001) Piracy Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers 14(1) p. 67.46. ^ Owen, L. (2001). "Piracy". Learned Publishing 14: 67–70. doi:10.1087/09531510125100313

(http://dx.doi.org/10.1087%2F09531510125100313).47. ^ Butler, S. Piracy Losses "Billboard" 199(36)

48. ^ a b Piracy Statistics around the World "Video Business" 27(28) (2007).49. ^ "Urheberrechtsverletzungen im Internet: Der bestehende rechtliche Rahmen genügt"

(http://www.ejpd.admin.ch/content/ejpd/de/home/dokumentation/mi/2011/2011-11-30.html). Ejpd.admin.ch.50. ^ Tobias Kretschmer & Christian Peukert (2014). [Abstract (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?

abstract_id=2425386) PDF (http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp1265.pdf) Video Killed the Radio Star? OnlineMusic Videos and Digital Music Sales]. Social Science Electronic Publishing. ISSN 2042-2695(https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2042-2695).

Dowd, Raymond J. (2006). Copyright Litigation Handbook (1st ed.). Thomson West. ISBN 0-314-96279-4.Ellis, Sara R. Copyrighting Couture: An Examination of Fashion Design Protection and Why the DPPA andIDPPPA are a Step Towards the Solution to Counterfeit Chic, 78 Tenn. L. Rev. 163 (2010), available athttp://ssrn.com/abstract=1735745.Gantz, John & Rochester, Jack B. (2005). Pirates of the Digital Millennium. Financial Times Prentice Hall.ISBN 0-13-146315-2.Ghosemajumder, Shuman. Advanced Peer-Based Technology Business Models(http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/8438). MIT Sloan School of Management, 2002.Lehman, Bruce: Intellectual Property and the National Information Infrastructure (Report of the WorkingGroup on Intellectual Property Rights, 1995)

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 18/19

Wikisource has the text ofthe 1911 EncyclopædiaBritannica articleCopyright.

Wikisource has originaltext related to this article:

Copyright law

External links

Quotations related to Copyright at Wikiquote Media related to Copyright at Wikimedia Commons

Copyright

(http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Law/Legal_Information/Intellectual_Property/Copyrights) at DMOZCollection of laws for electronic access (http://www.wipo.int/clea/en/) from WIPO – intellectualproperty laws of many countriesCopyright (http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/us/copyrite.htm) from UCB Libraries GovPubsAbout Copyright (http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy.htm) at the UK Intellectual Property OfficeA Bibliography on the Origins of Copyright and Droit d'Auteur(http://www.lawtech.jus.unitn.it/index.php/copyright-history/bibliography)

Lindsey, Marc: Copyright Law on Campus. Washington State University Press, 2003. ISBN 978-0-87422-264-7.Mazzone, Jason. Copyfraud. SSRN (http://ssrn.com/abstract=787244)Nimmer, Melville; David Nimmer (1997). Nimmer on Copyright. Matthew Bender. ISBN 0-8205-1465-9.Patterson, Lyman Ray (1968). Copyright in Historical Perspective. Online Version. Vanderbilt University Press.ISBN 0-8265-1373-5.Rife, by Martine Courant. Convention, Copyright, and Digital Writing (Southern Illinois University Press; 2013)222 pages; Examines legal, pedagogical, and other aspects of online authorship.Rosen, Ronald (2008). Music and Copyright. Oxford Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-533836-7.Shipley, David E. Thin But Not Anorexic: Copyright Protection for Compilations and Other Fact Works(http://ssrn.com/abstract=1076789) UGA Legal Studies Research Paper No. 08-001; Journal of IntellectualProperty Law, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2007.Silverthorne, Sean. Music Downloads: Pirates- or Customers? (http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=4206&t=innovation). Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, 2004.Sorce Keller, Marcello. "Originality, Authenticity and Copyright", Sonus, VII(2007), no. 2, pp. 77–85.Steinberg, S.H. & Trevitt, John (1996). Five Hundred Years of Printing (4th ed.). London and New Castle: TheBritish Library and Oak Knoll Press. ISBN 1-884718-19-1.Story, Alan; Darch, Colin & Halbert, Deborah, ed. (2006). The Copy/South Dossier: Issues in the Economics,Politics and Ideology of Copyright in the Global South [1] (http://copysouth.org/en/documents/csdossier.pdf).Copy/South Research Group. ISBN 978-0-9553140-1-8.WhyNotAskMe.org (http://whynotaskme.org/): Organization demanding democratic participation in copyrightlegislation and a moratorium on secret and fast-tracked copyright negotiations

9/28/2014 Copyright - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright 19/19

6.912 Introduction to Copyright Law (http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-912-introduction-to-copyright-law-january-iap-2006/) taught by Keith Winstein,MIT OpenCourseWare January IAP 2006Copyright Berne Convention: Country List (http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ShowResults.jsp?country_id=ALL&start_year=ANY&end_year=ANY&search_what=C&treaty_id=15) List of the 164members of the Berne Convention for the protection of literary and artistic worksUK Copyright Law fact sheet (http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law)(April 2000) a concise introduction to UK Copyright legislationIPR Toolkit – An Overview, Key Issues and Toolkit Elements(http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/themes/content/contentalliance/reports/ipr.aspx) (September 2009)by Professor Charles Oppenheim and Naomi Korn at the Strategic Content Alliance(http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/themes/content/contentalliance.aspx)MIT OpenCourseWare 6.912 Introduction to Copyright Law (http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-912-introduction-to-copyright-law-january-iap-2006/) Free self-study course with video lectures as offered during the January 2006, Independent Activities Period(IAP)When Google respects the Internet rights and principles(http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/dynamiccoalitions/72-ibr) — YouTube makes the sameautomatically.Early Copyright Records (http://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/coll/067.html) From the Rare Book andSpecial Collections Division at the Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Copyright&oldid=627397952"

Categories: Copyright law Data management Intellectual property law Library science MetadataMonopoly (economics) Public records

This page was last modified on 28 September 2014 at 10:10.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms mayapply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is aregistered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.