Copyright Law FAQ
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A: A copyright protects original works of authorship which include literary, musical, dramatic, pictorial, sculptural, audio-visual, and architectural works, computer programs, and motion pictures. The copyright protects only the artistic presentation or expression of the author that is fixed in a tangible medium and does not protect the actual ideas, methods or systems which are embodied in the materials.
Q: What is the purpose of a copyright?
A: The purpose of a copyright is to protect the work of an author against copying so as to encourage the arts.
Q: What types of things are protected via copyright?
A: The original tangible work of an author is protected by copyright. Examples of work protectable by copyright include, for example, original literature, musical scores, plays, paintings, sculpture, motion pictures, audio-visual materials, architectural works, and computer programs.
Q: What type of protection does a copyright provide?
A: A copyright provides protection against unauthorized reproduction, adaptation, distribution, performance and display of a work.
Q: What is the "fair use" exception to copyright protection?
A: The fair use exception allows certain limited copying and use of a copyrighted work without subjecting the user to claims of infringement. These limited exceptions allow, for example, a journalist to reproduce portions of a copyrighted work in order to provide a newspaper review of the work. Another application of the fair use exception is a library copying an old manuscript in order to retain the copy for archival purposes.
Q: What constitutes a proper copyright notice and who may employ such a notice?
A: A property copyright notice should appear on all copies of a work. This is a notice to the public that proprietary rights in a work are being claimed. Proper notice contains three parts: symbol, year of first publication of the work and the name of the author or owner as follows:
© 1996[Name of Author]
Q: How do you obtain ownership in a copyright?
A: A copyright is actually created instantaneously with the creation of the work. The owner is the author, or in the case of a work-for-hire situation, the owner is the employer. The owner of the copyright can assign it to an individual or corporation. However, in order to have full protection for copyrighted works, they must be registered with the Library of Congress. This is accomplished by completing a specific form for the type of work to be registered and filing that form, together with copies of the work and a filing fee, with the Library of Congress. This can be done at any time during the life of a copyright. The only protection available for copyrights is federal registration through the Library of Congress.
Q: What additional benefits are obtained by registering a copyright?
A: Although copyrights can be registered at any time during the life of the copyright, registration must be completed before the owner can sue for infringement in federal court. Registration should also be done within three months after publication and at least prior to infringement in order to receive maximum damages and attorney fees resulting from the infringement.
Q: Which government entity registers copyrights?
A: Copyrights are registered with the Library of Congress.
Q: Is it necessary to use an attorney to obtain a copyright registration?
A: An attorney is not necessarily essential in order to obtain a copyright registration. Specific forms (according to the type of work) are used to file for registration, and there is no prosecution during the registration process.
Q: What is the life of a copyright?
A: The current term for copyrights is the life of the author plus 50 additional years, or in the case of corporate ownership, the lesser of 75 years from publication or 100 years from creation.
Q: What are the most frequent mistakes made relating to copyrights?
A: One of the most frequent mistakes made relating to copyrights is a work-for-hire situation where either an independent contractor or an employee is hired to create a particular work for an employer and the resulting work and the copyright in that work both become the property of the employer instantaneously upon completion of the work. Other mistakes are made either in failing to understand that a copyright arises with the creation of a work or in failing to file for a copyright registration promptly.
Q: Must a copyright registration be obtained in each individual country for which copyright protection is desired?
A: The United States is a signatory on international agreements that provide automatic protection for copyrights which are registered in the U. S. without any additional filing in most foreign countries.
Q: What if I have a question that is not answered here?
A: Submit your question to Molly McKay.