The ten myths
about copyright protection:
1. If something is found on the
internet it can be used freely False, if something is pulled from
the internet it enjoys the same protections that any other literary work would
enjoy. This means that without the author's specific permission the work may
not be used in whole or in part. Even if the article is posted on a site
denoted as a public domain site it does not mean that the article may be pulled
and used.
2. If you aren't making money it does not violate
copyright laws False, it does not matter if you stand to make a
profit from the exploitation of someone else's work. Whether or not you stand
to make a profit it is the right of the original author to give permission or
not regarding their creation.
3. If something isn't registered with
the copyright office it isn't copyrighted Technically false. The
standards of the Berne copyright convention makes any original work copyrighted
upon it's creation. There are certain advantages to having your work registered
with the copyright office. It is far easier to prove the date of the creation
of your work if you have the dated paperwork from the copyright process. This
does not mean that if a work is not registered with the copyright office it is
fair game and cannot be proven.
4. I am free to use something
because it is "Fair Use" It depends on what you are trying to do.
Fair Use was designed to allow for commentary, satire and criticism. This means
that you can directly quote from someone's work if the use of the quote is to
provide your opinion on the work. Fair use also allows for individual to spoof
on someone else's work and allows for similarities between two individual
works.
5. I am free to make my own work based of off someone else's
work False, copyright protection strictly forbids "derivative
works" and allows only the original author to create a derivative version of
his/her own work.
6. I only copied part of an article so I am
fine False, the only reason that you can directly copy any part of
an original work into you work is under the fair use guidelines. This means
quoting directly into your article is permissible if you are making a
commentary on the original work. When doing this it is best to give the
original creator credit and not to use anymore of the original work than is
necessary to make your commentary.
7. It wasn't marked copyright so
it is part of the public domain False, according to the Berne
copyright convention copyright occurs when the original work is created and
cannot be used without the express permission of the creator. Public Domain
refers to works that have expired copyrights, which vary from work to work.
Public domain generally refers to works created prior to 1928. Any work created
after 1928 and before 1963 it has an automatic copyright of 28 years, which can
be renewed for a total of 67 years. From 1964 to 1977 it has a copyright for 95
years from date of creation. From 1978 to present day the copyrights start at
70 years from the date of creation and will expire depending on the death of
the author.
8. One of my employees created it so I am the copyright
owner Not necessarily, you are only the copyright owner if the
work was made for hire. One of your employees can create a work and it would
not be necessarily yours unless it can be proven to be a work made for hire. In
other words there needs to be a work made for hire contract or the work can be
shown to have been made in the course of employment specifically at your
request.
9. Violating a copyright isn't really illegal
False, depending on the seriousness of the infringement and whether there
can be a monetary loss shown be the original creator copyright infringement can
be treated as a criminal offense.
10. No one sues over copyright
violations False, there are several large copyright infringement
cases in process right now and a suit against MP3.com was settled for a total
of $53.4 million.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Find out more great
information about copyright protection at
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