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International Copyright Law
A copyright is used to protect the rights of the author of published or unpublished works of literature, art forms like music and lyrics, drama, choreography, graphics and others, motion pictures and sound recordings. International copyright law is federal law and does not vary from state to state, though the interpretation of the law may be different in various courts. With more and more persons turning to the Internet for variety of purposes, Internet copyright laws have become important and also more enforceable.
A copyright owner has five exclusive rights in the copyrighted work:
- Reproduction Modification
- Distribution
- Public performance
- Public display
Internet Copyright Law:
To be covered by copyright, a work must be original and in a concrete “medium of expression”. This relates to Internet copyright laws as well. Copyright applies to the fixed expression of a thought or an idea, but the idea itself is not subject to copyright. Copyright does not apply to information that is purely factual nor does it apply to procedures. The manner in which an idea is expressed in a fixed medium makes it subject to copyright. This limitation on the scope of copyright is intended to protect the author's creative work, advancing the free exchange of facts, information and ideas at the same time.
The term of copyright protection depends on three factors – who, when, and where. That is:
- Who created the work
- When the work was created
- When it was first distributed commercially
A work is considered original in the copyright sense if it is an original creation of the author and was not copied from some preexisting work. The difference between "idea" and "expression" is a dicey issue in US copyright law. Infringement of copyright extends to new works that are "substantially similar".
There are times when one does not need a license to use copyrighted work –
- If the use is ‘fair use’
- If the work used is in the public domain
- If the material used is factual or an idea
Fair use is determined on a case-by-case basis by considering four factors:
- Intention and nature of use
- Nature of the copyrighted work
- Amount and substantiality of the portion used from the work
- Effect on the prospective market for or worth of the protected work
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