Copyright
What is
copyright?
Copyright is the legal right given to protect a physical
representation of ideas. The owner of the copyright for a work can decide where
the work is used and how it is distributed. Copyright generally lasts for the
duration of the creator’s life, +70 years. Copyright in broadcasting lasts from
50 years from the end of the year that the broadcast was made. The intellectual
property protection office says ‘Copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or
artistic work lasts for the life of the author and 70 years from the end of the
year in which he/she died’.
What is
copyright free?
Copyright free is when the copyright duration of a work has
expired, or the owner has given up the ownership of the copyright, or never
claimed ownership of the work. Making a Mark blog defines copyright free as ‘A
work no longer has a copyright if the copyright has expired or because the
copyright holder has specifically given up or transferred some or all rights to
the property in question’.
How do you gain ownership of copyright
Gaining ownership of copyright varies depending on certain circumstances. In the UK, the creator/author is automatically the first owner of the copyright of that work. Copyright is considered a from of property, like physical property, so can be transferred. If you are working for a company, the copyright for any material that you create is automatically given to the company, as this is generally part of the contract.
Exemptions
In some circumstances, you can be exempt from copyright. The
four reasons for this are:
Parody - The use of
another person’s work is permitted if you are using it to create a parody. A
parody is an imitation of another person’s work, in order to mock or poke fun
at it.
Fair
Dealing/Fair Use Doctrine - In the UK, you may use a
copyrighted work if it is considered ‘Fair dealing’. This is determent by the
courts, and is based on the economic impact that the use would have on the
copyright holder of the work. If the economic impact on the copyright holder is
deemed insignificant, then the usage may count as fair dealing. The
intellectual property office UK states ‘Where the economic impact is not
significant, the use may count as fair dealing’.
Critique/Review
- If you are critiquing or reviewing someone’s work, such as a
movie or song, then you may showcase some of the work in your review. You
cannot use the whole of the work though, such as a whole movie.
Current
affairs - If the work displays something that is a current affair (such
as a picture of a specific natural disaster) or the work it’s self is a current
affair, then you may use it as part of a report (such as a news report) in
order to help report on the affair.
Below you can see evidence of me trying to gain permissions to use a copyrighted image
Bibliography
