The word "copyright" has become very familiar to most of us, especially today with digital media available on the Internet. Whether it’s a book, a song, or a sketch by an amateur artist, anything that gets posted on the Internet has the potential to be copied and shared with other people. That’s why the issue of copyrights has become so important.
Copyright Law Basics
Copyright is actually an automatic right that creators have, and not something that has to be legally obtained or purchased. Like other rights that we have automatically, we have copyright when we create any work of art, write a poem, a short story, or write a song. Copyright means that what someone creates belongs to them, and that no one else can claim the right to it or copy it for distribution. In addition, a copyrighted work cannot be used as a basis for someone else’s work, and it cannot be performed or displayed publicly. The copyright holder can give someone permission to do any of these things. There are also exceptions to the rules, which is where copyright law gets complicated.
Specific Features
"Fair Use" in copyright law means that portions of a copyrighted work can be copied and distributed for research or educational purposes. On the Internet, Fair Use is often claimed when someone posts a short clip from a movie, for example. If a copyright holder wanted to take someone to court over this, it would be up to a judge to decide if Fair Use applied in the particular case.
Certain things cannot be copyrighted, and the list is rather long. Simple ideas, titles of books or other written works, lists of ingredients, or an oral speech that is not written or recorded are just some of the things that cannot have a copyright.
A copyright can be held by two or more people who create a work jointly. If someone is hired to create a work for someone else, the copyright belongs to the person who hired the creators.
How To Get A Copyright
Although copyright is automatic, it is possible to register a copyright. This creates a public record of the copyright, and it is necessary to register a copyright before you can bring a lawsuit against someone for infringing upon it. You can register a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C.
Copyrights do not exist indefinitely; they do have an expiration date. Generally, a copyright expires 70 years after the death of the person who created the work. When a copyright expires, the work enters into the public domain, which means that it can be copied or altered freely by anyone. This is why the works of Shakespeare and other authors from the past are able to be downloaded and shared freely online, and why authors or artists can freely use these works as a basis for their own creations.
