A Guide to Copyrights
Although copyright laws vary from nation to nation, in most respects the law is standardized. Copyright law is designed to protect the rights of the holder of the copyright (initially the creator in most cases) to the work that he created, thus ensuring that people have an incentive to create. Copyrights are different from patents in that copyrights generally protect artistic works, while patents protect technological creations.
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Rights Granted by Copyright
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A copyright grants the copyright holder the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, publicly display, and prepare derivatives of the copyrighted work. The copyright holder may license these rights to others, usually in exchange for fees, known as "royalties."
Works Entitled to Copyright Protection
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Copyright law protects nearly all works of art including literature, film, music, sculpture and painting. Other types of works that might not be thought of as artistic works, such as photographs, architectural designs and computer programs are also protected. Such works must be reduced to a tangible medium--for example, a song must be recorded. In the U.S., a copyright protection attaches the moment the work is created, regardless of whether it is ever published, and registration is not required. In many other nations, a work must be registered before a copyright will be granted. Copyrights endures for various periods according to the circumstances, but generally for several decades after the death of the creator.
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International Protection
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Members of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works have agreed that works created in any Berne Convention nation are entitled to copyright protection in all Berne Convention nations, according to the respective laws of each nation. Registration of the copyright in each individual nation is not necessary. Most of the nations of the world are members of the Berne Convention.
Enforcement
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In the U.S. and many other nations, copyright violators are subject to civil penalties and in some cases of organized distribution, even criminal liability. Copyright holders whose rights have been violated may file civil lawsuits to recover the ill-begotten gains of the violators, and may be entitled to additional punitive damagesl.
Exception: The Fair Use Doctrine
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The Fair Use Doctrine provides that anyone may use a small portion of a copyrighted work without penalty or liability for royalties if proper attribution to the creator is given. Since the legal line between fair and unfair use is fuzzy and varies from case to case, caution is advised.
Exception: The Work for Hire Doctrine
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The creator of an original work may contract with another party (an individual, or even a corporation) to allow that party to hold the copyright. This means that the original copyright attaches to the other party as soon as it is created. An example of this would be someone who writes for a magazine and agrees to relinquish her copyright in exchange for salary.
Exception: The First Sale Doctrine
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Copyrights attach only to the first sale of a particular copy of a copyrighted work. That is the reason second-hand bookstores do not need to pay royalties. A downloaded copy of a copyrighted work is considered a new copy, and is subject to copyright protection, which is why illegally downloading music from the Internet can subject you to civil liability.
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