An Introduction to Copyright Law

By: Rosalyn Martinez

U.S. Copyright Act 1976

The Copyright Act of 1976 is a United States legislative statute that protects the rights of copyright holders. It was enacted on October 19, 1976 and in effect January 1, 1978.

Copyright protection goes into immediate effect once a literary piece of work has been created in some sort of tangible form. The duration of copyright protection can last for up to 70 years after an author’s death and for 95-120 years for anonymous/ pseudonymous works.

What You Need to Know…There are many sections to the Copyright Act of 1976. To name a few:

(1) First Sale Doctrine

(2) Registration & Notification of Copyright

(3) Public Domain

(4) Penalties & Copyright Infringement

(5) “International” Copyright

(6) Fair Use

(7) Digital Millenium Copyright Act

(8) TEACH Act.

(9) A brief discussion of each follows.

(1) First Sale(Section 109 of Copyright Act)

Per information provided in The Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance, First Sale allows for the lending, reselling and disposing of copyrighted items.

(2) Registration & Notification of Copyright

People often misunderstand and are under the impression that the author must register their work.

There was a time in which copyright notice was required but that was eliminated when the U.S. adhered to the Berne Convention effective March 1, 1989 (The Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance, 2008). Notice is no longer required but still recommended.

Copyright notice should contain the symbol ©, the year the work was created and the author’s name. For example: © 2015 Rosalyn Martinez.

(4) Penalties & Copyright Infringement

By violating or infringing on an author’s rights, he/she may be able to sue for compensation. Damages can range from $250-150,000 plus attorney fees.

You may also be criminally liable for pieces of work valued at more than $1,000.

If the value is more than $2,500, you may be sentenced to five years in jail plus fines (The Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance, 2008).

(3) Public Domain

Public Domain consists of all works that have never been or are no longer protected under copyright. It consists of 4 categories: 1. Generic information;

2. Works in which copyright holders failed to renew a registration;

3. Works published in 1989 that failed to include proper notice of copyright; and

4. Works created by the U.S. federal government.

(5) International Copyright

There is no such thing. However, the Berne Convention states that once a work is protected in one of the Convention member countries, it is protected by copyright in all of them. As of mid-2004, 156 countries, including the U.S., belong to the Berne Convention (The Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance, 2008).

(6) Fair Use(Section 107 of the Copyright Act)

Fair Use provides 4 factors to help individuals determine if their use of copyrighted content can be used without obtaining copyright permission. In order for content to be considered fair use, you must ask yourself if the use is for criticism, comment, news reporting, education, scholarship or research. If so, then you proceed to the 4 factors listed under “fair use”. Otherwise, you must obtain copyright permission.

(7) Digital Millenium Copyright Act

The Digital Millenium Act (DMCA) is fairly new and was passed into law in 1998 to address some of the issues unique to digital copyright (The Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance, 2008).

Under DMCA requirements, university networks acting as Internet service providers have limited liability.

(8) TEACH Act

The TEACH Act applies to distance education, on or off campus.

Under TEACH, instructors may use a wider range of works in distance learning environments; students may participate in distance learning sessions from virtually any location; and all participants can enjoy greater latitude when it comes to storing, copying and digitizing materials.

References

Burmark, L. (2011). They snooze you lose. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (2008). The campus guide to copyright compliance. Retrieved from https://www.copyright.com/Services/copyrightoncampus/intro/index.html Trevino, R. (2014). Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Web site: https//myutb.blackbooard.com/webapps/bb-collaborate-bb_bb60/ recording/playGuest?course_id=null&recordingID=6541711&recording Format=1