What is copyright?
Copyright
gives the creators of certain types of media the rights to control how they are
used and/or distributed.
Some types
of work that can be protected are:
Ø Literary- Song lyrics, manuscript, manuals,
computer programs, commercial documents, leaflets, newsletters, magazines and
articles
Ø Dramatic -
Plays/ acting and dance
Ø Musical- Recordings and score
Ø Artistic- Photography, painting, sculptures,
architecture, technical drawings/ diagrams, maps and logo’s
Ø Sound recording- Musical and literary sources
Ø Film-
Films, video footage, broadcasts and cable programmes
Copyright is
an automatic right that arises whenever an individual or company creates their
own piece of work. Work should be original and regarded as a degree of labour,
skill or judgement. It is to do with the independent creation rather than the
idea behind the creation. For example, your idea for a book would not itself be
protected, but the actual content of a book you write would be. In other words,
someone else is still entitled to write their own book around the same idea, as
long as they do not directly copy or adapt yours to do so.
Restrictions
It is an
offence to perform any of the following acts without the consent of the owner:
Ø Copy the work.
Ø Rent, lend or sell copies of the work
to the public.
Ø Perform, broadcast or show the work
in public.
Ø Adapt the work.
The
author of a work, or a director of a film may also have certain moral rights:
Ø The right to be identified as the
author.
Ø Right to object to offensive treatment.
Acts that are allowed
Fair dealing
is a term used to describe acts which are permitted to a certain degree without
intruding on the work, these acts are:
Ø Private and research study purposes.
Ø Performance, copies or lending for
educational purposes.
Ø Criticism and news reporting.
Ø Incidental attachment.
Ø Copies and lending by librarians.
Ø Acts for the purposes of royal
commissions, statutory enquiries, judicial proceedings and parliamentary
purposes.
Ø Recording of broadcasts for the
purposes of listening to or viewing at a more convenient time, this is known as
time shifting.
Ø Producing a backup copy for personal
use of a computer program.
Ø Playing sound recording for a non-profit
making organisation, club or society.
(Profit
making organisations and individuals should obtain a license from PRS for
Music.)
FAST was
founded in 1984 by the software industry and is now supported by over 1,200
companies. It is a not-for-profit organisation with an aim to prevent software
piracy and has a policy of prosecuting anyone found to be breaching copyright
law. FAST also works to educate the public about good software practice and
legal requirements.
Intellectual property
If someone has an idea and you use it or change it without asking you are violating their intellectual property.
Intellectual property
If someone has an idea and you use it or change it without asking you are violating their intellectual property.
Copyright when editing graphics
Only the
copyright owner has the legal right to change a copyright image or picture. If
you change an original picture or create a new version of someone else’s idea
you will of violated a copyright law. You must of got permission from the
original owner to change an original piece of work. The person who takes the
photo or makes the image is the original owner but if they want to transfer
copyright ownership for someone else to use it or change it then they have to
do it in writing. If you want to get
ownership you would have to research the copyright to locate the original owner
and if successful, ask for permission to make edits to the picture.
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