The Purpose of Copyright
There are two main thrusts of copyright: 1) to incentivize authors to create more works, considered (utilitarian) and 2) to protect the author's rights as creator of their works by requiring others to attribute them, upholding the original intent and meaning of the work (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.1).
What is Copyrightable and What is Not
The follow categories of works or expressions gain automatic copyright:
- Literary and artistic works
- Translations, adaptations, arrangements of music and alterations of literary and artistic works
- Collections of literary and artistic works
- Applied art, industrial designs and models, and computer software may also be considered original expressions in some countries (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.1)
Relationship Between Copyright and Other Methods of Protecting Intellectual Property
Copyright is merely one form of intellectual property right and gives the owner exclusive rights to copy the work and claim author's rights (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.1). However, trademarks and patents are two other types of intellectual property law that provide additional and different protections (Creative Commons, 2020,2.1)
Trademark law helps users of a good or service distinguish that good from other products or services; it provides producers a way to differetiate their product from other products (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.1).
Patents are a sort of copyright for inventions, providing creators exclusive rights to produce or sell their invention (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.1).
Trade secrets, publicity rights, and moral rights are other types of intellectual property. rights (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.1).
How a Person Receives Copyright Protection for Their Work
Creators are granted copyright the moment their work is in a "fixed tangible medium" (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.1). While authors can register with a copyright office, in most cases, this is not necessary in order for the author to claim copyright and exclusive. rights to the work (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.1).
The Public Domain
Works that are in the Public Domain are free from copyright restrictions and can be used by the public in order to create new expressions based on these works; these materials belong to the public. (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.3).
Materials enter the Public Domain in a number of ways:
- The copyright expires
- The work was never protected by copyright
- The creator grants a Public Domain CC0 license to the work
- The owner of the copyright did not renew copyright protections. (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.3)
Exemptions to Copyright like Fair Use or Fair Dealing
Countries can make exceptions to copyright in a two ways: by stating exclusions specifically (uses that are not allowed) or by providing general guidelines that are permitted and then allow courts to decide for each case whether guidelines. were followed (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.4). The United States uses a Four-Factor tests that analyzes: (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.4).
- the purpose of the use
- the nature of the copyrighted work
- the amount of the work used, and
- the effect of the use on the potential market. (Creative Commons, 2020, 2.4)
Attributions and License: "The Basics of Copyright Law", licensed CC BY 4.0, is a derivative of the September 2020 Creative Commons Certificate Course by Creative Commons, also licensed CC BY 4.0. DeeAnn Ivie adapted content from the Creative Commons Certificate Course Unit 2 on Copyright Law: 2.1 Copyright Basics, 2.2 Global Aspects of Copyright, 2.3. The Public Domain, and 2.4 Exceptions and Limitations to Copyright, adding it to her website "The Basics of Copyright Law."