Copyright is a legal concept that gives the author or creator of an original work the exclusive right to do certain things with that original work. The copyright holder has the right to choose if anyone else can use, adapt or resell their work and has the right to be credited for that work.
Copyright protection is principally given to works that are literary, dramatic, artistic and musical works, cinematograph films, and television and sound broadcasts.
Only the copyright holder of a work may do these things:
The creator of a work retains copyright to it even if they do not expressly tell you so.
The general rule is that:
However, in some places around the world, there may be important exceptions to the general rule. For example:
Employment – works made in the course of the creator’s employment is usually owned by the employer.
Journalists – where work is created by a journalist employed by a newspaper or magazine, the journalist may retain certain rights, while the employer will own all other rights.
Commissioned photographs and videos – if photographs or video recordings are commissioned for a private or domestic purpose, then the person who commissions the work may acquire copyright in the work, whereas, in most other cases of commissioned works, the author owns the copyright.
It is important to note that:
For example:
In each case, the author or software developer would retain ownership of the copyright, but just grant the producer or the customer the right to use the work for the purpose specified in the license.
Copyright is typically infringed if a work protected by copyright, or a “substantial part” of it, is used without permission in one of the ways exclusively reserved to the copyright owner. But in some countries, there are special exceptions which allow copyright material to be used without it being an infringement – for example, “fair use” exceptions.
When assessing whether a part of someone else’s work that you wish to use is a “substantial part” you need to consider whether it is an important, essential or distinctive part. The part does not have to be a large part to be “substantial”.
It is the “quality” of the part, not the “quantity” that is important. Even if you change or add to a part of someone else’s work, you can infringe copyright if the part that you use is an important, essential or distinctive part of the original work.
A person who infringes a copyright can be sued by the copyright owner and taken to court. A court can order a range of things, including that the infringer pays compensation and pay the copyright owner’s costs. In some cases, a person who infringes copyright can be charged and can be ordered to pay a fine or, in serious cases, can be imprisoned.
Examples of copyright infringement include:
Copyright may also be infringed by:
The Internet is not exempt from copyright law! In most countries, copyright owners and the relevant authorities are able to apply traditional copyright laws to works on the Internet.
A copyright owner enjoys certain exclusive rights, including the right to copy and communicate work. So it is copyright infringement to place someone else’s work on the Internet or to download or copy it from the Internet, without the copyright owner’s consent.
It’s not relevant to copyright infringement whether you make any money from the unauthorized sale or distribution of copyrighted work. It can still be a violation of the copyright owner’s rights and there can still be damages awarded against you, especially if your actions harm the value of the work.
It is not mandatory to have a copyright notice on a work. However, a copyright notice strengthens the protection, by warning people that the work is copyright protected, and in some countries by allowing the copyright owner to get more and different damages.
If a work looks like something that can be protected by copyright (e.g. a literary, dramatic, artistic or musical work), you should assume it is. You should not use anyone else’s work unless you know the source.
Giving credit means you are not a plagiarist. However, merely giving credit is not a defense to copyright infringement – you still need to obtain the permission of the copyright owner to use the work.
While in some countries there are “fair use” exceptions, copyright is usually infringed if a work, or a “substantial part” of it, is used (without permission) in one of the ways exclusively reserved to the copyright owner.
When assessing whether a part is a “substantial part” you need to consider whether it is an important, essential or distinctive part. The part does not have to be a large part to be “substantial” for the purposes of copyright law.
A “substantial part” may be a very small portion, and less than 10%, of the entire original work. It is the “quality” of the part, not the “quantity” that is important.
Other intellectual property rights and legal theories include:
Trademarks – a distinctive word, phrase, letter, number, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture, aspect of packaging or a combination of these which is used by a trader to identify that its goods or services originate from a particular source or to distinguish its goods or services from another trader.
A trademark owner has the right to stop others from using the trademark, or any deceptively similar trademark, on or in connection with goods or services that are identical or closely related to the goods or services of the trademark owner. In many countries, a trademark owner has enforceable rights in a trademark regardless of whether it is registered.
Patents – an exclusive right to commercially exploit an invention (i.e. a device, substance, method or process) which is new, inventive and useful. A patent must be registered before the owner acquires the exclusive patent rights.
Designs – a new and distinctive shape, configuration, pattern and ornamentation which, when applied to a product, give it a unique appearance. The registration of a design gives the owner protection for the visual appearance of the product.
Passing off / fair trading – passing off occurs when someone uses the name, goodwill or identifier of another in a manner that misrepresents to the public that they are or have an association with, that other person.
These types of intellectual property rights can sometimes overlap with each other. For example: