Copyright infringement is a hot topic of late, as the Recording Industry Association of America [RIAA] continues its efforts to sue those caught downloading and sharing music without permission through peer-to-peer platforms, like Kazaa and eDonkey.

The issue of copyright violation prevails because of a lack of knowledge regarding copyright law and the belief that “they won’t know.” Regardless of the reason, copyright infringement is serious and can be accompanied by stiff penalties.

What is copyright?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Law, copyright is defined as, “a person’s exclusive right to reproduce, publish, or sell his or her original work of authorship (as a literary, musical, dramatic, artistic, or architectural work).” In short, this exclusiveness means that the person to whom the copyright belongs is the only person who can do anything with the item.

When you think about it, copyright ownership would have been the ultimate weapon in the preschool sharing wars. Children everywhere could walk around with their copyright-protected toys, confident in the phrase, “It’s mine, and you can’t have it.”

How and when does a person establish copyright ownership?

Copyright protection begins the minute a work is put into tangible form (written, drawn, programmed). The creator does not need to register the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office, though this is helpful in establishing and proving the exact date of ownership.

In the majority of cases, the creator is the owner of the work. However, there are two cases where the requestor is considered the owner. The first is when the creator is an employee of the requestor and the work was completed as part of the job. The second is when the creator signs a written transfer of copyright ownership, transferring the ownership of the work to the requestor.

How can you learn if a work is protected by copyright?

If the item is not marked with the copyright symbol ©, the word “copyright,” or the abbreviation “Copr.,” there are two ways to determine if a work is protected by copyright. The first method is to contact the creator or current user. The second is to contact the U.S. Copyright Office at http://www.copyright.gov and search their database.

How can you avoid copyright infringement?

You can avoid any act of copyright violation by using original works, using open source or free software, using works that are in the public domain (works that were never copyrighted or whose copyright has expired), or by obtaining written permission from the copyright holder to use the work(s) in the manner desired.

| Author: Krasen Tyutyunev |