What Is the Purpose of a Copyright?
- The first notion for the idea copyright is tied to the founding of the printing press and it began in Britain in the early 18th century. Previously, the Licensing Act of 1662 was the only rule, it was a royal proclamation made as a way to register books and to prevent the unregulated copying of books.
But it wasn't until 1709, when the Statute of Anne was enacted, that copyright gave the author certain rights for a fixed period of time. Over time, copyright has grown to encompass maps, films, sound recordings, photographs, architectural drawings and software.
The U.S. law, Title 17, defines copyright law in America. It has evolved because the mediums of creation grow and change but, basically, the law exists to set the parameters of public use.
Original works automatically fall under this umbrella of protection from the moment they are created. They don't have to have been "published." What does this mean? To be considered, the work must be fixed--tangible--something you can hear or read or see. It does not have to be professionally published but it does have to be available in a concrete way, not still in your head as an idea.
The second requirement is originality, which means it is work that comes from your efforts alone.
And finally, the work registered needs to have a viable degree of creativity. You may do research for example, but the idea is re-phrased or restructured in your own unique voice.- While copyright law does protect an artist's interests, in itself it was meant to promote the "progress of science," meaning that it encourages useful art that is also knowledge-based. Therefore, if the artist has met these criteria, creating useful and educational material that will augment the universal bank of knowledge, he is granted exclusive rights to his work for a specified period of time.
This law is actually one of the hardest to enforce. There is a special premise attached to the idea of "useful art." If an individual or someone who is not going to profit from, or distribute the work, wants a single copy for their own use to read, enjoy and keep, that is allowed.
As an example, if you tape a film of the National Football League, you cannot then open up a theater and charge people money to view it with you. And the copyright notice must be either read or printed with each presentation shown.
So, in essence, the football program's producers are relying on your good nature to not violate copyright. They want you to enjoy the work, but you are under an obligation to not profit from their hard-earned labor and their "setting down" of that work in film.
In addition, just because you buy a book for $25, does not mean you can copy the pages and distribute them to your organization. With that action you are violating the author's copyright and are subject to a fine under the law.
If you do not fully understand the seriousness of this right, the authority for the copyright protection is entwined in Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution. And cases have been lodged and will continue to be fought and won.
Another functional area of law similar to copyright is trademarks, trade secrets and other intellectual property like inventions and patents. These, too, include things like logos, company designs, registered trademarks, paintings and more, which are all protected assets.
The symbol for copyright is a the letter "c" inside a circle. The copyright period for authors is typically 70 years, although there are grandfathered clauses that provide a term of life plus 90 years.
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