Copyright+What's+it+all+about




 * Copyright: What’s It All About! **

**Copyright is a law that gives the author of an original work the rights for distribution, publication, adaptation, and the length of time before work becomes public domain. Copyright is included in the umbrella under intellectual property as are trademarks and patents. Copyright laws usually cover artistic or creative expression. Patent laws cover inventions and trademark laws cover names, designs, marks, and terms.**
 * //** A great example is the Disney character Grumpy. It is covered as a trademark and also under copyright. Recently a business in Appleton called Grumpy’s, was told to remove the image by Disney. They have since removed the head and left the body in place. Altering part of the image must be fine with Disney since the image is still there. **//

**The Statute of Anne in 1710 first gave authors a fourteen-year copyright term. Throughout the years, copyright has been standardized around the world. The Berne Convention of 1886 recognized creative works at creation and lasted for a lifetime without having to register or patent. The Copyright Act of 1909 allowed works to become Public Domain if not copyrighted correctly. The Universal Copyright Convention drafted in 1952, allowed copyrights to be registered for periods of time. It was more accepted by countries worldwide. The WIPO Copyright Treaty of 2002 included more restrictions on technological uses of copyrighted materials. More recently there have been trade agreements to stop counterfeit goods and pirating of protected works. Copyright recognizes exclusive rights when the author holds all rights to the creation and controls what others can legally do with the creation. This would probably involve permission and/or a fee to use the creation. This is important in the era of the Internet, iTunes, uTube and other new forms of technology.**
 * //** Examples of this would be the WIAA or the Packers. They make it very clear that their materials may not be used without their written permission. There is currently a case in which the Post Crescent streamed the WIAA State Football Championship game on the Internet without permission. The WIAA has taken the newspaper to court for damages. The newspaper was suppose to pay the WIAA to stream the game just as any radio station must pay a fee to broadcast a game live. It will be interesting to see what happens with this. If the WIAA loses the case, copyright as we know it will change. **//
 * Licensing is also a common way to transfer ownership of creations. It is a way to reward the creator and also allow the new owner unlimited use. This process is usually documented.**
 * //** An example of this might be a university paying an annual copyright licensing fee that would give anyone the ability to use research information freely without fear of infringement. **//

**When a copyright term expires it causes the creation to become part of public domain. Each media has a different time period before it becomes public domain. Once it becomes public domain, anyone can use the creation as they wish. One must be careful when taking a form of media off the Internet. Make sure to check the status of the copyright. Just because it is on the Internet does not make it public domain.**


 * Fair use was defined in the Copyright Act of 1976 where it allowed some copying and duplicating without the permission of the author. The purpose of the use, the nature of the creation, the amount to be used in relation to the work as a whole, and the effect of the use in the overall market. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act prohibits the entire duplication of movies and audio cds for distribution. An archival copy can be made.**