What is a Copyright?
A Copyright is simply a permanently fixed original work in some form that can be seen or heard only the copyright owner has the right to use their work for commercial purposes!
It is illegal to use a copyrighted work without permission of the copyright owner and the consequences can range from a fine to imprisonment – depending on the severity of the infringement.
As mentioned before, only works that can be seen or heard! Ideas, for example, cannot be copyrighted.
What things can be copyrighted:
Books, plays, music, dance, movies, and pictures
You can’t copyright an idea – only the form an idea takes.
Copyright Duration & The Public Domain:
Copyrights only last for a fixed amount of time. Originally they lasted only 14 years in order for the copyright owner to make profit on their work.
After 14 years the work became a part of the public domain – where anyone can use it.
A work in the public domain is free for anyone to use. Cultures can create new ideas by building from old works. The public domain is necessary for a living thriving society.
The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
Copyright duration changed in 1896 under the Berne Concention. Time duration changed to an entire lifetime and an additional 50 years after that.
This gives most people the impression that copyrights last virtually “forever.”
How to legally use copyrighted work
One can use copyrighted work through “fair use.”
Fair use is the limitations of copyright usage. You can borrow a small amount of a copyright work to teach, report news, parody, make critical commentary.
Rules that demonstrate fair use:
The nature of the work borrowed, the amount of the work used, and the commercial impact of the work determine the legality of usage.
More videos regarding Copyrights
