Hi there! Here’s my project for my Unit 2 Creative Commons Certification course. They asked us to post our work online. So, here it is.
The purpose of copyright
There are two main areas of interest for copyright. One is to incentivize creativity for the benefit of all (a Utilitarian rationale). The second is to protect the moral rights of the author (an Author’s Rights rationale), such as attribution and the integrity of their created work(s).
Under copyright, the copyright owner has the rights to assign permission to do things like copy, distribute, publicly perform, or adapt the work, unless there is a legal exception or limitation (learn more below). These exclusive rights are outlined in 17 U.S. Code § 106. The copyright holder is sometimes called the author (legalese for “the creator”), however sometimes authors assign their copyright to another entity and they become the copyright holder.
Copyright protection may be limited to serve public interest in certain areas. There are times when things like freedom of expression and the right to information may rule out. So, copyright is law that grants exclusive rights to authors, but there are limits.
What is copyrightable, and what is not
Something is copyrightable automatically when created, though in some countries it needs to be in a fixed, tangible medium. The U.S. requires this. Thus, ideas are not copyrightable. It is the expression of the idea that can be granted copyright. Facts also cannot be copyrighted, because no one can “own” a fact.
The relationship between copyright and other methods of protecting intellectual property
Copyright is different than other types of intellectual property (IP). Others are trademark law, patent law, design patents, geographical indications, and trade secrets.
Trademark: Think the logos and brand names of your favorite products. Trademark helps consumers not to be confused by similar products through granting exclusive rights to trademark holders.
Patent law: A limited-time monopoly for inventors on their inventions.
How a person generally receives copyright protection for their work
Registration is not required in the United States. The Berne Convention prohibits the use of legal formalities to gain copyright protection, though formally registering the work with the Copyright Office will grant other benefits and lets you record your authorship officially.
Copyright is automatic the moment a creation is fixed. Another word for this could be “recorded.” For example, let’s say you make up a dance with very detailed choreography – enough to pass the originality threshold. Is that enough for copyright protection? No, actually. You would need some way to prove it was more than just an idea. You would need to record your dance in some fashion (via).
The public domain
The public domain, in general, refers to materials “up for grabs” so to speak. They no longer have copyright protections. So, they are free for others to use without worrying about copyright! However, there may be ethical reasons you might not want to use the work or moral rights reasons to still attribute it to the author (depending on the country). What is and is not in the public domain, however, depends on jurisdiction. All works that were published between 1925 and 1977 in the United States without a copyright notice are in the public domain in the United States. But in other countries, they could still be under copyright.
Here’s a TCC-recommended source to help you gauge whether or not material might still be in the public domain:
By Michael Brewer & The ALA Office for Information Technology Policy. The Public Domain Slider is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license.
Exceptions and limitations to copyright
Just like we referenced above, copyright must be balanced against other public interests. There are some uses that do not require permission. These uses are limits on the author’s exclusive rights. Exceptions and limitations can be written into copyright laws. Fair Use in the United State is another very important exception. Exceptions to copyright are, generally speaking, free, and limitations require payment. So, Fair Use is considered an exception.
Other examples: A form of limitations would be compulsory licensing systems used in some countries. A form of exceptions, on the other hand, would be a list written into law that outlines specific uses that are or are not allowed, which is more common in civil law countries.
References
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Unless otherwise noted, text adapted from Creative Commons Certificate for Educators, Academic Librarians and GLAM by Creative Commons, licensed under a CC Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
“Copyright Law” blog post and associated images by TCC Library are licensed under a CC Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
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