Copyright Law. The primary objective of copyright is not to reward the labor of authors, but "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts." To this end, copyright assures authors the right to their original expression, but encourages others to build freely upon the ideas and information conveyed by a work. This result is neither unfair nor unfortunate. It is the means by which copyright advances the progress of science and art.

The primary objective of copyright is not to reward the labor of authors, but "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts." To this end, copyright assures authors the right to their original expression, but encourages others to build freely upon the ideas and information conveyed by a work. This result is neither unfair nor unfortunate. It is the means by which copyright advances the progress of science and art. - Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, writing for the majority, in the case of Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., (1991)

"While I shall think myself bound to secure every man in the enjoyment of his copyright, one must not put manacles upon science." - Lord Ellenborough

Copyright is an intellectual property right which may subsist in a wide range of creative, intellectual, or artistic forms. Copyright includes original

What is copyright?
Copyright, an intellectual property law, is a form of protection granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works.

What does copyright protect?
Copyright protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture.

What copyright does not protect? Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.

"mere listings of ingredients as in recipes, formulas, compounds or prescriptions are not subject to copyright protection. However, where a recipe or formula is accompanied by substantial literary expression in the form of an explanation or directions, … there may be a basis for copyright protection". - Re: Recipes - www.copyright.gov/fls/fl122.pdf

How is a copyright different from a patent or a trademark?
Copyright protects original works of authorship, while a patent protects inventions or discoveries. Ideas and discoveries are not protected by the copyright law, although the way in which they are expressed may be. A trademark protects words, phrases, symbols, or designs identifying the source of the goods or services of one party and distinguishing them from those of others.

When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Do I have to register to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work.

Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?
Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law.

What is a “poor man’s copyright.”?
The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright.” There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration.

Is my copyright good in other countries?
Many countries have copyright relations with other countries in the world, and as a result of these agreements, they honor each other's citizens' copyrights.

Copyright - Brief History

Laws granting ownership of intellectual products to the authors, scientists, or inventors who created them took root in the 18th century. The idea being that personal ownership would lead to personal profit and that profit would stimulate creation of new knowledge.

Statute of Anne, was passed in England in 1710. It formed the basis for modern copyright laws. The Statute of Anne established two important precedents. First, that creators should be the primary recipient of any revenues their work generated. And, second, that copyright ownership should only be granted over a limited span of time. The Statute of Anne was used as a model for national laws in Denmark (1741), the United States (1790), and France (1793).

In 1886, with the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the cornerstone of international copyright protection was laid, although subsequent treaties have widened and deepened the protection it offers. The core provision of the Berne Convention is that each member country will provide copyright protection for works published in other member countries. Each member country has agreed to provide the same copyright protection to works published in a Berne Convention member as it does it’s own works. Member states agree to protect the copyright of each other’s works as if they were their own.

Universal Copyright Convention, Geneva 1952, effective from 1955 exists alongside the Berne Convention. The main features of the Universal Copyright Convention:
No signatory nation should provide greater copyright protection for domestic work than foreign work.
A formal copyright notice must appear in all copies of a work.
The minimum term of copyright protection in all member nations must be the life of the author plus an additional 25 years.
All member nations are required to grant an exclusive right of translation for a seven-year period to other member nations.

It was also agreed that the Universal Copyright Convention would not negate any of the existing multilateral arrangements between countries.
It was also agreed that when there are difference between member countries the Berne Convention takes precedence.

Australian Copyright Law

Canadian Copyright Law

China PRC Copyright Law

European Union Copyright Law

French Copyright Law

German Copyright Law

Hong Kong Copyright Law

Indian Copyright Law

Japanese Copyright Law

Netherlands Copyright Law

Philippine Copyright Law

Polish Copyright Law

Russian Copyright Law

Spanish Copyright Law

Switzerland Copyright Law

UK Copyright Law

US Copyright Law

17 U.S.C. § 102(b) provides: “In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.”

Purpose of Copyright
The purpose of copyright is to protect an artist, publisher, or other owner against any unauthorized use or sale of their works. The details vary from country to country. But, typically, these laws grant the copyright holder the right of reproduction; the right to distribute copies; the right to rent copies (such as computer programs and audiovisual works); the right to make recordings of public performances (particularly musical, dramatic, or audiovisual works); the right to broadcast; and the right to translate.

Lawful only if they are done with the permission of the copyright owner, they are referred to as ‘economic rights’ and enable the author or creator to be paid for the use of work.

Most countries also recognize ‘moral rights’ for authors. Moral rights are the basis on which authors may claim authorship and require their names be indicated on the copies of their work. Moral rights give the author the right to oppose the mutilation or deformation of their works, regardless of whether they have transferred their economic rights.

The Berne Convention recognizes moral rights and upholds the right of an author to preserve their work from any alteration.

The United States copyright law doesn’t recognize moral rights. In the United States, such rights are waived when economic rights are sold. If an author sells a screenplay for a feature film, the new owner may alter the text, title, concept freely while still attributing the screenplay to the author.

Protected Works
Copyright laws protect a wide range of works. In general, copyright protects ‘original works of authorship’ that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. And practically all national copyright laws provide for the protection of the following types of works:
Literary works: regardless of their length (novel or short-story), regardless of purpose (education or advertisement), or form (handwritten or book).
Musical works: regardless of length, purpose, or form.
Artistic works: regardless whether 2-dimensional, 3-dimensional, representational or abstract, or purpose (pure or commercial).
Audiovisual works: irrespective of purpose (pure art or propaganda) such as motion pictures, television broadcasts.

These categories should be viewed broadly. Computer programs are registered as ‘literary works’ and maps and architectural plans are often considered to be ‘pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.’

Choreographic works, maps and technical drawings are also copyrighted. Works of applied arts, such as furniture, jewelry, or wallpaper are protected. United States, provides for the protection of derivative work. Walt Disney company owns the copyright on its animated movies and anyone wishing to produce a T-shirt with the image of Mickey Mouse must obtain permission from Walt Disney.

In some countries, like in the United States, copyright has a wider meaning than ‘author’s rights.’ Copyright extends to the producers and interpreters of artistic works. Mozart’s 1st Violin Concerto is in the public domain. However, James Levine’s interpretation of this concerto as performed by Itzhak Perlman is copyrighted. Consequently, Deutsche Grammophon records may bring legal action against anyone selling copies of that recording without permission.

Generally, several categories of material are generally not eligible for copyright protection.

•Works that have not be fixed in a tangible form (such as improvisational speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded).
•Titles, names, or slogans which are mere variations of typographic ornamentation.
•Ideas, procedures, methods, or systems as distinguished from a written description or printed illustration.
•Works consisting entirely of information that is common property containing no original authorship (such as calendars, height and weight charts, or rulers).

Limitations
Most countries impose certain limitations on the copyright holder. Two of the most important are that of ‘duration’ and ‘fair use.’

England’s Statute of Anne set the precedence for the expiration of copyright. Copyright is limited in time. Many countries have adopted, as a general rule, a term of protection that starts at the time of the creation and ends 50 years after the death of the author. After that time, the author can no longer claim ownership and the work can be freely reproduced and distributed without permission.

Another limitation on the copyright holder is often referred to as ‘fair use.’ This is a relatively new provision in the U.S. copyright law but other countries have recognized it, in one form or another.

Under certain circumstances, parts of copyrighted works may be used without permission from the copyright holder. The criteria vary from country to country but in the United States, for example, courts have regarded as fair use the quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment, quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, use in parody, use in a summary of the piece, in a news report, reproduction of a library to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson.

Even in the United States the distinction between fair use and infringement is not easily defined. Determining specific cases of right and wrong is always left to the courts.

The Berne Convention, set up an international bureau in 1886 to carry out its’ administrative and enforcement tasks. It was known as the International Bureau for the Protection of Intellectual Property. In 1960, the Bureau moved from Berne to Geneva and was renamed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In 1974, it was placed under the auspices of the United Nations with a mandate to administer intellectual property matters of member states.

WIPO’s objectives include the intent to harmonize national intellectual property legislation and procedures and to serve as a kind of clearinghouse for the registration of international copyright. One of WIPO’s primary programs is to facilitate the resolution of international intellectual property disputes and to interpret the contents of the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention.

Therefore even the expression in these circumstances is unprotected, or extremely limited to verbatim copying only.
Courts are divided on whether merger constitutes a defense to infringement or prevents copyrightability in the first place, but it is often pleaded as an affirmative defense to infringement.

“Failure to pursue third-party infringers has regularly been rejected as a defense to copyright infringement or as an indication of abandonment.” Capitol Records v. Naxos of America, 372 F.3d 471, 484 (2d Cir. 2004).

Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act extended copyright terms in the United States by 20 years. Before the act (under the Copyright Act of 1976), copyright lasted for the life of the author plus 50 years, or 75 years for a work of corporate authorship. The act became Public Law 105-298 on October 27, 1998.

The Copyright Term Extension Act extended these terms to life of the author plus 70 years and 95 years respectively. The act also affected copyright terms for copyrighted works published prior to January 1, 1978, increasing their term of protection by 20 years as well.

This effectively 'froze' the advancement date of the public domain in the United States for works covered by the older fixed term copyright rules. Under this act, no additional works made in 1923 or afterwards that were still copyrighted in 1998 will enter the public domain until 2019, unless the owner of the copyright relases them into the public domain prior to that.

Unlike copyright extension legislation in the European Union, the Sonny Bono Act did not revive copyrights that had already expired. The act did extend the terms of protection set for works that were already copyrighted, and is retroactive in that sense. However, works created before January 1, 1978 but not published or registered for copyright until recently are addressed in a special section (17 U.S.C. § 303) and may remain protected until 2047.