Jennifer Jackson's List: Copyright Law

• discussion (19)

• [edit]  Original licenses

   

  The original set of licenses all grant the "baseline rights". The details of  each of these licenses depends on the version, and comprises a selection of four  conditions:

   
   
  • Attribution (by): Licensees may copy, distribute, display  and perform the work and make derivative works based on it only if they give the  author or licensor the credits in the manner specified by these.  
  • Noncommercial or NonCommercial (nc): Licensees may  copy, distribute, display, and perform the work and make derivative works based  on it only for noncommercial purposes.  
  • No Derivative Works or NoDerivs (nd):  Licensees may copy, distribute, display and perform only verbatim copies of the  work, not derivative works based on it.  
  • ShareAlike (sa): Licensees may distribute derivative works  only under a license identical to the license that governs the original work.  (See also copyleft.)
   
   

  [edit]  Combinations

   

  Mixing and matching these conditions produces sixteen possible combinations,  of which eleven are valid Creative Commons licenses and five are not. Of the  five invalid combinations, four include both the "nd" and "sa" clauses, which  are mutually exclusive; and one includes none of the clauses. Of the eleven  valid licenses, the five that lack the "by" clause have been phased out because  98% of licensors requested Attribution, though they do remain available for  reference on the website.^[3] This leaves six  regularly used licenses:

   
   
  1. Attribution alone (by)  
  2. Attribution + Noncommercial (by-nc)  
  3. Attribution + NoDerivs (by-nd)  
  4. Attribution + ShareAlike (by-sa)  
  5. Attribution + Noncommercial + NoDerivs (by-nc-nd)  
  6. Attribution + Noncommercial + ShareAlike (by-nc-sa)
   

  For example, the Creative Commons Attribution (BY) license allows one to  share and remix (create derivative works), even for commercial use, so long as  attribution is given.^[4]
• No Derivative Works (nd) Licensees may copy, distribute, display and perform only verbatim  copies of the work, not derivative works based on it.
• Share-alike (sa) Licensees may distribute derivative works only under a license  identical to the license that governs the original work. (See also copyleft.)

1 more annotation...

• ignorance of the law is no excuse
• ignorance of the law is no excuse
• A copyright is a property right  attached to an original work of art or literature. It grants the author or  creator exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, adapt, perform, or display  the protected work. Other than someone to whom the author/creator has extended  all or part of these rights, no one else may use, copy, or alter the work.  Wrongful use of the material gives the copyright owner the right to seek and  recover compensation in a court of law.  A copyright gives the author or  owner the right of control over all forms of reproduction, including  photocopies, slides, recordings on cassettes and videotapes, compact disks, and  other digital formats
• Copyright laws do not extend to facts and  ideas

• A copyrighted work may be used or copied  under certain conditions:  

   
  • public domain -- work belonging to  the public as a whole--government documents and works, works with an expired  copyright or no existing protection, and works published over 75 years  ago;  
  • permission -- prior approval for  the proposed use by the copyright owner;  
  • legal exception -- use constitutes  an exemption to copyright protection--parody, for example; or  
  • fair use -- use for educational purposes according to certain  restrictions.
• ignorance of the law is no excuse
• Teachers have a moral obligation to practice integrity  and trustworthiness. Just as they expect students to refrain from cheating on  tests and from taking others' belongings at school, teachers should honor the  law when it comes to fair use and copyright. Thus, teachers not only should  protect themselves from legal liability but should also model honesty and  truthfulness by knowing when and what may be copied for educational  use.

5 more annotations...

• In the United States , copyright is a form of protection provided by the  government to the authors of "original works of authorship, including literary,  dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works." This  protection is available to both published and unpublished works, regardless of  the nationality or domicile of the author. It is unlawful for anyone to violate  any of the rights provided by copyright law to the owner of the copyright.
• Copyright protection exists from the time the work is created in a fixed,  tangible form of expression. The copyright in the work of authorship  immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work.
• The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under U.S. law, although it  is often beneficial.
• Fair use is a uniquely U.S. concept, created by judges and enshrined in the law.  Fair use recognizes that certain types of use of other people's copyright  protected works do not require the copyright holder's authorization. In these  instances, it is presumed the use is minimal enough that it does not interfere  with the copyright holder's exclusive rights to reproduce and otherwise reuse  the work.
• Fair use is primarily designed to allow the use of the copyright protected work  for commentary, parody, news reporting, research and education. However, fair  use is not an exception to copyright compliance so much as it is a "legal  defense." That is, if you use a copyright protected work and the copyright owner  claims copyright infringement, you may be able to assert a defense of fair use,  which you would then have to prove.
• The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a  commercial nature or is for nonprofit, educational purposes.
• • The nature of the copyrighted work.  

    Use of a purely factual work is more likely to be considered fair use than  use of someone's creative work.
• • 30 seconds of copyrighted music is allowed! Instead, go to CreativeCommons.org and find media with these restrictions two restrictions. 1. You must not profit from the use of the media. 2. You must give credit to the creator.
    
• • The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the  copyright protected work as a whole.  

    There are no set page counts or percentages that define the boundaries of  fair use. Courts exercise common-sense judgment about whether what is being used  is too much of, or so important to, the original overall work as to be beyond  the scope of fair use.
• • The effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the  copyright protected work.  

    This factor looks at whether the nature of the use competes with or  diminishes the potential market for the form of use that the copyright holder is  already employing, or can reasonably be expected soon to employ, in order to  make money for itself through licensing.

     

    At one extreme, simple reproduction of a work (i.e., photocopying) is  commonly licensed by copyright holders, and therefore photocopying in a business  environment is not likely to be considered fair use.

     

    At the other extreme, true parody is more likely to be considered fair use  because it is unlikely that the original copyright holder would create a parody  of his or her own work.

• "International" Copyright

   

  There is no such thing as an "international copyright" that automatically  protects a work throughout the world although more than 150 countries have  ratified a treaty intended to accomplish as many of the benefits of  "international copyright" as possible. Generally, if a work is protected in the  U.S. it is protected in most countries because the U.S. adheres to the leading  copyright convention, the Berne  Convention, which is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
  

9 more annotations...