A single term of copyright is defined as either of the following: life of the author plus 50 years for a work by an individual author or authors or 75 years from creation or 100 years from publication, whichever is sooner for a company.
©
The copyright symbol which designates protection under the copyright law.
Notice of copyright became optional after March 1, 1989.
Copyright registration is optional, but recommended as it entitles the copyright holder to statutory damages and attorney fees should the owner prove copyright infringement. Filing a claim in court requires a certificate of registration be presented to the court.
Copyright law protects the following works of authorship in fixed form as those that can be protected by copyright:
In 1978, revisions to the existing Copyright Act of 1976 were enacted to eliminate the need for works to be published for it to be copyrighted – copyright became immediate when the work was created.
Copyright protection is given to works of authorship that are original, exhibit at least minimal creativity, and are fixed in a tangible form of expression.
The copyright owner has exclusive rights to and authorizes others to:
Ideas and facts are not copyrightable.
How is copyright transferred?
Owners of intellectual property including copyrighted works can buy, sell, or transfer any or all of their exclusive rights. Transfer of rights to a copyrighted work must be conveyed in a contractual agreement (in writing).
Types of transfer:
When is the creator of an intellectual property not the owner of the copyright?
When an employee creates work for his or her employer within the scope of the employee’s job description (i.e., an employee is asked to perform this work, it is done during working hours, and it is performed to serve the employer).
When the work is considered a work for hire?
This is a situation where a company or individual commissions work by an author, the commissioning party has copyright ownership if the agreement between the two parties is in writing. Examples include: contribution to a collected work; contribution to a screenplay; translation; supplementary work prepared to go along with work prepared by another person, such as a foreword, index, illustration or bibliography; a compilation; an instructional text; a test or answer key; an atlas.
To preserve the ownership of the copyright in a work for hire situation a written agreement between the parties should be signed prior to starting work.
What are the requirements for Fair Use exemption?
Fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and transformative purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. This use can be done without permission from the copyright owner.
Fair use case involving text
A biographer of Richard Wright quoted from six unpublished letters and ten unpublished journal entries by Wright. The court found that this was fair use because no more than 1% of Wright’s unpublished letters were copied and the purpose was informational. (Wright v. Warner Books, Inc., 953 F.2d 731 (2d Cir. 1991)).
A company published a book entitled Welcome to Twin Peaks: A Complete Guide to Who’s Who and What’s What, containing direct quotations and paraphrases from the television show Twin
Peaks, as well as detailed descriptions of plots, characters, and setting. The court found that this was NOT fair use because the amount of material taken was substantial and the publication adversely affected the potential market for authorized books about the program. (Twin Peaks v. Publications Int’l, Ltd., 996 F.2d 1366 (2d Cir. 1993)).
Websites —5 Simple Rules for Staying Out of Trouble
Sample permission request text (informal):
“I am the owner of rights to ______________________[title of work] and I authorize its display and reproduction on the _____________[name of website] website located at _____________________________[insert URL for site] for a period of __________[insert length of time].” (Stim, 2004).
Getting Permission to use Text
To: Licensor
I am writing to you to request permission to use the following material:
Licensor Information
Title of Text (the “Selection”):_________
Author: ___________________________
Source publication (or product from which it came): _____________________
If from a periodical, the ISSN, volume, issue, and date.
If from a book, the ISBN:________________
If from the Internet, the entire URL:_______________________________
Number of pages (or actual page numbers) to be used: ____________________
If you are not the copyright holder or if worldwide rights must be obtained elsewhere, please indicate that information:_______________________________
Licensee Publication Information
The Selection will appear in the following publication(s)(the “Work”):____________
Title: _______________________________
Name of publisher or sponsor (“Licensee”):_______________________
Author(s): ________________________
Type of publication: _________________
If print publication, estimated print run:______________________
If print publication, projected publishing date:___________________________
If print publication, expected price:$___________
If website, the URL: ___________________
If website, estimated monthly hits:___________________________
If website, the posting date: ____________
Rights needed: ______________________
Fee
Licensee shall pay a fee of $______ to Licensor at the following address: _______________________________________ upon publication of the Work or within 6 months of executing this agreement, whichever is earlier.
Credit
A standard credit line including your company name will appear where the Selection is used. If you have a special credit line you would prefer, indicate it below:________________________
Samples
Upon publication, Licensee shall furnish ___ copies of the Work to Licensor.
Signed by Licensee, Name Typed, Title, Address and Date
Licensor’s Approval of Request
I warrant that I am the owner of rights for the Selection and have the right to grant the permission to republish the materials as specified above. I grant to the Licensee and Licensee’s successors, licensees, and assigns the nonexclusive worldwide right to republish the Selection in all editions of the Work.
Permission granted by: __________________
Signed by Licensor, Name Typed, Title, Address and Date
NOLO Legal Encyclopedia Trademarks & Copyrights
Besenjak, C. (1997). Copyright plain & simple. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press.
Stim, R. (2004). Getting permission: How to license & clear copyrighted materials online & off. Berkeley, CA: NOLO.