Media Law & Ethics quiz #3

intellectual property

Copyright creates property rights called intangibles, i.e. intellectual property that does not necessarily exist in time or space. Copyright, patent and trademark laws are all labeled under the rubric of intellectual property. The current copyright law, reflecting the intent of the Constitution, was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1976 and amended in 1998.

Creative Commons

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

How long does copyright last?

life of author plus 70 years

Categories subject to Copyright-

1. Audiovisual works, such as TV shows, movies, and online videos 2. Sound recordings and musical compositions including any accompanying words 3. Written works, such as lectures, articles, books, and musical compositions. 4 4. Visual works, such as paintings, posters, and advertisements 5. Video games and computer software 6. Dramatic works, such as plays and musicals including any accompanying music 7. Choreographic works 8. Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works 9. Motion pictures and other audiovisual works 10. Architectural works

Legal penalties for infringement

1. Infringer pays the actual dollar amount of damages and profits. 2. Case and statutory law provides a range from $200 to $150,000 for each work infringed. 3. Infringer pays for all attorneys 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 exceptions:

1. Research or study 2. Criticism or review 3. Reporting the news 4. Parody or satire

3 elements for copyright 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, described below.

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.

Copyright Registration

Although copyright protection begins when the "idea" is put in tangible form, the copyright can be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office (fill out the forms) and more rights accrue to the copyright holder.

what type of work is subject to copyright?

When a person creates an original work that is fixed in a physical medium, he or she automatically owns copyright to the work

What is copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (Title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works

"idea-expression dichotomy

Ideas, facts, and processes are not subject to copyright. Copyright law does not protect ideas, facts or principles.

Linking: A matter of degree

In copyright infringement cases involving the Web, liability often hinges on how deeply one website links to another. If an online journalist links to the home page of a rival website offering a video, and not directly to the video itself, which may be buried deeply in one of the competitor's website pages, liability may not be imposed.

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

In some circumstances, it is possible to use a copyright-protected work without infringing the owner's copyright, provided there is a fair use or fair dealing. Nonetheless, 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 14 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"

copyright VS Privacy

Just because you appear in a video, image or audio recording does not mean you own the copyright to it. For example, if your friend filmed a conversation between the two of you, he would own the copyright to that video recording he made. The words the two of you are speaking are not subject to 3 copyright separately from the video itself unless they were fixed in advance

Can YouTube determine copyright ownership?

No

patent

Patents primarily refer to inventions of machinery and new technological designs. A patent properly registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C., is good for 20 years

ALL COPYRIGHT LAWS ARE FEDERAL

TRUE

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

The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes. 2. The nature of the copyrighted work. 3. The proportion of material that was copied. 4. The effect of the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work and related harm to the creator.

Copyright Notice

The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under U. S. law. Nonetheless, use of the notice may be important because it informs the public that the work is protected by copyright, identifies the copyright owner, and shows the year of first publication.

What is not protected by copyright?

Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or 5 improvisational speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded) • Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents • Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration • Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources) • Works by the U. S. government are not eligible for U. S. copyright protection.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

a 1998 US law intended to update copyright law for electronic commerce and electronic content providers. It criminalizes the circumvention of electronic and digital copyright protection systems.

In order to be eligible for copyright protection,

a work must be both creative and fixed in a tangible medium. Names and titles are not, by themselves, subject to copyright protection.

Trademark

is any 2 word, symbol, device, image, likeness, slogan or even color that distinguishes an individual or corporate product or services from competitors. The slogan "Quality is job one" by Ford Motor Co. is an example of a trademark. Trademarks can last indefinitely if duly registered with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office. A trademark registration, however, must be renewed after its first five years of use and thereafter at 10-year intervals

copyright infringement

is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code).

Copyright

the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.