Copyright Law

Audiovisual works (TV shows, movies, and online videos) Sound recordings, musical compositions, lyrics Written works (lectures, articles, books, and musical compositions) Visual works (paintings, posters, and advertisements) Video games and computer software Dramatic works (plays and musicals) Choreographic works Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works Motion pictures Architectural works

eligible for copyright protection

copytraps

occurs when Web sites lure innocent users into downloading expression that seems legal but is actually infringing -unfairly punish the innocent, foster copyright abuse, unduly burden commerce, restrict speech, and deter the dissemination of knowledge

Fair Use

permits the limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder

The FCC's regulation of programming is primarily limited to

preventing obscenity and to control the programming that children might listen to or view

FCC does not regulate:

print media ( its the only media immune due to the First Amendment)

Privacy vs. Copyright If your friend uploaded a video of you without your permission, and you feel it violates your privacy or safety, you may file an invasion of _______ complaint.

privacy

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

regulates the telecommunications media, including broadcast, satellite, and cable television as well as broadcast and satellite radio as a matter of federal law

Copyright infringement

the act of violating any of a copyright owner's exclusive rights granted by the federal Copyright Act -includes sharing, distributing, and reproducing copyrighted work

Linking

-A matter of degree -gives the impression that the video is owned or created by the website providing the link -linking to the home page of the site that created the video does not create a similar impression

Fair Use Exceptions that are Allowed:

-Criticism or review -Reporting the news -Parody (transformative work) -Research or study

Obscenity and the FCC

-FCC allows adult entertainment on cable TV stations, but not broadcast stations, as long as it is merely "indecent" and not obscene, which is illegal. -people can choose whether to subscribe to a cable TV station, but have no control over broadcast television, which can more readily be viewed by children.

FCC and Cable

-FCC extended jurisdiction, but left most of the franchise and programming control to local governments

Infringement exceptions

-Research or study -Criticism or review -Reporting the news -Parody or satire

idea-expression dichotomy

-an exception to infringement -ideas, facts, and processes are not subject to copyright. it must have a "rendering" or a tangibility -ideas and facts to remain in the public domain

Purpose and Character (fair use)

-commercial vs. nonprofit vs. educational -criticism and comment, teaching, scholarship, research, and education.

steps to minimize aggregators risks

-do not reproduce a headline or lead in its entirety; -Avoid using a majority of articles from a single source; - identify the source of the story and link to the original source of the article; -provide context or commentary.

New York Times Co. v. Tasini

-established that publishers violate the copyrights of freelance authors when they include the freelancers' already-published articles in computer databases without the author's permission

Copyright Registration

-establishes a public record of the copyright claim -Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works of U. S. origin. -If made before or within five years of publication, registration will establish prima facie evidence in court of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate -If registration is made within three months after publication of the work or prior to an infringement of the work, statutory damages and attorney's fees will be available to the copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an award of actual damages and profits is available to the copyright owner.

Nature (fair use)

-fictional work, consumable work (crosswords), informative (newspapers) -any copying before the author has has the opportunity to publish it is likely to not be considered a fair use

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

-makes it illegal to "circumvent" technology-based protections of copyrighted materials -gives Web hosts and Internet service providers a "safe harbor" from copyright infringement claims -prevents people from freely appropriating MP3s and copies of other creative works

broadcast license renewal

-must be renewed every eight years -will be renewed if the station has served the public interest, convenience and necessity (PICON) and has not violated the Federal Communications Act or abused or violated other laws.

Civil Actions

-no action shall be maintained under the provisions of this title unless it is commenced within three years after the claim accrued.

Copyright notice

-no longer required under U. S. law -it informs the public that the work is protected by copyright, identifies the copyright owner, and shows the year of first publication. -responsibility of the copyright owner and does not require permission from the Copyright Office.

Criminal Proceedings

-no proceeding shall be maintained under the provisions of this title unless it is commenced within five years after the cause of action arose.

copyright

-protect authors of "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other (published and unpublished) intellectual works -good for the life of the creator plus 70 years

trademark

-protect brand names, mottos, logos, and other source identifiers from being used by others for certain purposes -lasts indefinitely, but must be used within 2 years and renewed after 5 years

patent

-protect inventions of machinery and new technological designs -lasts for 20 years

PICON

-public interest, convenience, and necessity -focuses on the diversity of broadcast voices and localism -has remained in effect despite the additional channels now available through satellite and cable television technology.

Proportion (fair use)

-the more material taken, the less likelihood that the copying is considered "fair use." -copied material should be less than 1,000 words, carry a copyright notice, and not be used more than a few times per quarter or semester

Effect on market, harm to creator (fair use)

-whether the new work has harmed the commercial value of the copyrighted expression -If the new work has harmed the market for the older work, a court will be less likely to find fair use -with derivative rights, the fair use doctrine does not apply

The test for obscenity (This is different from nudity and "indecency," which is tolerated):

1. An average person, or a jury, thinks the work appeals to the prurient interest; 2. The work depicts offensive sexual conduct 3. The work lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value

a claim of copyright infringement can be filed, even if you have:

1. Given credit to the copyright owner 2. Refrained from monetizing the infringing video 3. Noticed similar videos that appear on YouTube 4. Purchased the content on iTunes, a CD, or DVD 5. Recorded the content yourself from TV, a movie theater, or the radio 6. Stated that "no copyright infringement is intended"

Legal penalties for infringement:

1. Infringer pays the actual dollar amount of damages and profits. 2. Case and statutory law provide a range from $200 to $150,000 for each work infringed. 3. Infringer pays for all attorney fees and court costs. 4. The Court can issue an injunction to stop the infringing acts. 5. The Court can impound the illegal works. 6. The criminal infringer can go to prison for five years and pay $250,000 for a first offense

Copyright law lists four nonexclusive factors as in determining fair use:

1. The PURPOSE/CHARACTER of the use (commercial nature or nonprofit educational purposes) 2. The NATURE of the copyrighted work. 3. The PROPORTION of material that was copied. 4. The effect of the MARKET for or value of the copyrighted work and related HARM to the creator.

three elements that must be in place in order for the infringement to occur:

1. The copyright holder must have a valid copyright. 2. The person who is allegedly infringing must have access to the copyrighted work. 3. The duplication of the copyrighted work must be outside the exceptions

What are the notice and takedown procedures for websites?

1. The name, address, and electronic signature of the complaining party 2. The infringing materials and their Internet location or if the service provider is an "information location tool" such as a search engine, the reference or link to the infringing materials. 3. Sufficient information to identify the copyrighted works. 4. A statement by the owner that it has a good faith belief that there is no legal basis for the use of the materials complained of. 5. A statement of the accuracy of the notice and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on the behalf of the owner

Brian Book makes a video documentary of poverty in a South American village and, after registering copyright, uploads it to YouTube. Horace Duke, always looking for ways to liven his website, downloads the video and publishes it on his website. What rights does Book have against Duke?

Book would likely be successful in filing a copyright infringement claim against Duke. However, the safe harbor provision of the DMCA would insulate YouTube from liability. Nonetheless, Book can file a take-down notice for YouTube.

the idea of "rendering" means:

In order to be eligible for copyright protection, a work must be both creative and fixed in a tangible medium.

A student purchases a video from iTunes and uploads it to YouTube. Before uploading the video, the student adds a clip saying "no copyright infringement is intended" and identifies the creator of the video. Is the student potentially liable for copyright infringement?

In some circumstances, it is possible to use a copyright-protected work without infringing the owner's copyright, provided there is fair use or fair dealing ( claim may still be filed, however, even if you provide infringement info)

John Jones writes a short story, which he shares with a friend for criticism. His friend, Horace Duke, publishes the short story with his byline on his website. Jones did not put a copyright notice on his short story, and did not register it with the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. What rights does Jones have? If he registered the copyright, what rights would he have? What if Duke makes the short story available for download for a price, and earns $35,000 from it?

Jones has a legitimate common law copyright, even without a copyright notice, but will have to register his copyright to proceed in federal court. Registering the copyright at the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. provides additional rights to damages and creates criminal liabilities Duke may be ordered to pay either actual damages or statutory damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.

Sue Smith appears in a video taken by her ex-boyfriend. The video depicts her in an inebriated state and engaging in less than flattering conduct, and her ex-boyfriend uploads it to YouTube. Smith informs YouTube that the video violates her copyright interests in the video and demands that it be taken down. Will she be successful?

NO. Smith has no copyright interest. The copyright belongs to her ex-boyfriend. She can file an invasion of privacy complaint against her ex-boyfriend, however, the "safe harbor" provisions of the DMCA would likely protect YouTube from liability for an invasion of privacy complaint.

Joe Smith plans to write a news story about an $80 million high-rise construction project for the next day's edition of his newspaper's website. He discusses the story topic at lunch, which is overheard by a waitress. The waitress tells her husband, a freelance writer, about the topic and he writes a story published before Smith begins writing the story. What are Smith's remedies under the circumstances?

NONE. Ideas are not subject to copyright laws. Under the "idea-expression dichotomy", Ideas, facts, and processes are not subject to copyright. Copyright law does not protect ideas, facts or principles. A work must be both creative and fixed in a tangible medium.

Intangible works of expression (has no rendering or recording) Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols, etc Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, etc Works consisting entirely of common property/ no original authorship (standard calendars, height and weight charts, rulers, etc) Works by the U. S. government

NOT eligible for copyright

An online journalist downloads a copyrighted video about a cat playing a piano without permission of the creator and owner of the copyright. The video is featured prominently in a parody created by the journalist as part of a feature story that pokes fun at cat videos. Has a copyright infringement occurred?

No, as long as the parodist uses only enough of the creative expression to cause a Web user to "recall or conjure up" the original work. If the work is transformative, it is probably fair use for a parody

Can the FCC censor?

No, but they can punish a broadcaster through a fine, called a forfeiture, or refuse to renew a broadcast license.

Can YouTube determine copyright ownership?

No. YouTube isn't able to mediate rights ownership disputes. it's up to the parties involved to resolve the issue in court.

Jake Empirical has perfected a procedure for chemical analysis of fossils that he believes is more successful in pinpointing the age of fossils than any other method. Afraid that his rivals will take credit for the process, he keeps it a secret and does not render it to a writing or illustration. He does, however, give the process a title, which he calls the "Jake Fossil Chemical Analysis System." Does Jake have a valid copyright for his method? What about the title?

Not eligible for federal copyright protection. Not included with copyright: intangible form of expressions, no fixed medium, titles/slogans. Jake should look into a patent, not copyright.

A journalist decides to start a website using photos, headlines and leads from other online publications with links to the full stories of these publications. Is this practice permissible under U.S. copyright laws?

Not entirely. New York Times Co. v. Tasini states: Do not reproduce a headline or lead in its entirety; Avoid using a majority of articles from a single source; Prominently identify the source of the story and link to the original source of the article; Provide context or commentary.

A film critic reviews a book and writes a very negative review about the author, who is identified. Excerpts from the book are used in the review but the copyright owner, who is Pearson Allyn Bacon, not the author, is not identified. The review was read by 5 million people in print and online. Has fair use occurred?

Probably not. The source work, the copyright owner, and the author (if different from the copyright owner) must be sufficiently acknowledged in the publication.

Equal access by political candidates to paid advertising

Section 312(a)(7) of the Communications Act of 1934: broadcast stations must provide legally qualified candidates for federal elective office with reasonable access to advertising time on behalf of their candidacies.

Equal time and opportunity

Section 315 of the Communications Act: -Exceptions include news stories, news interviews, appearances on the Tonight Show," or appearances in spot news reports and incidental appearances in documentaries.

An English teacher wishes to use an excerpt from a book for a course she is teaching about literary criticism. The teacher does not get the consent of the author before she copies about 35 percent of the 200-page book and distributes it to her students. She informs the student of the title and author of the book, which is the only textbook used for the course and is relied upon for daily lesson plans and instruction. Has a copyright infringement occurred? Is this a fair use?

This might fall under the fair use exception, but probably not. The amount of the book copies, plus failure to disclose the name of the copyright owner, could make her liable for copyright infringement. (violating part 3 of fair use: the proportion of material used). For educational uses, the courts have held that the copied material should be less than 1,000 words, carry a copyright notice, and not be used more than a few times per quarter or semester

Is it possible to use a copyright-protected work without infringing?

Yes, but there must be fair use

Is it OK to Post YouTube Videos on My Website?

Yes, only if 100% of the material is homemade

Creative Commons

a standard way for content creators to grant someone else permission to use their work

FCC regulations are a form which kind of law?

administrative law

All copyright laws are: federal state

federal laws

intangibles

intellectual property that is protected by copyright that does not necessarily exist in time and space (copyright, trademark, patents)