UNIT 10:COPYRIGHT & E-PUBLISHING

What is Copyright?

• Copyright is the exclusive right given to the owner of a copyright for specific period. Copyright protection in Malaysia is governed by the Copyright Act 1987”.

A work that is eligible is protected automatically upon fulfillment of the following conditions:

• sufficient effort has been expended to make the work original in character;

• the work has been written down, recorded or reduced to a material form; and

• the author is a qualified person or the work is made in Malaysia or the work is first published in Malaysia.

WORK ELIGIBLE FOR COPYRIGHT PROTECTION:

•karya sastera (literary works) *including software;•karya muzik (musical works);•karya seni (artistic works);•filem (films);•rakaman bunyi (sound recording);•siaran (broadcasts); •karya terbitan (derivative works)

What Does Copyright Give Rights Holders?

• Right to reproduce the work.

• Right to prepare derivative works.

• Right to distribute copies for sale.

• Right to perform AV works publicly.

• Right to display musical and artistic works publicly.

How Long Does Copyright Last?

• Generally, copyright subsist during the life of the author

plus 50 years after his death. However, if a work has not

been published during the life time of the author, copyright

in the work continue to subsist until the expiration of 50

years, following the year in which the work was first

published. In the case of a work with joint authorship, the

life of the author who dies last is used for the purpose of

calculating the copyright duration of the work.

WHAT ARE THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS ?Generally, owner of copyright works have the exclusive right to :

• Reproduce the work in any material form (including photocopying, recording, etc.).

• Perform, show or play the work to the public (including performing a work live, or playing a recording or showing a film containing the work in a non-domestic situation).

• Broadcast the work. • Communicate the work by cable and • Distribute copies of the work to the public by sale rental or lending.

WHEN IS A COPYRIGHT WORK CONSIDERED INFRINGED ?

The copyright in a work is infringed when a person who, not

being the owner of the copyright, and without license from

the owner, does or authorizes any of the following acts :

i.Reproduces in any material form, performs, shows or

plays or distributes to the public, communicates by cable or

broadcast of the whole work or a substantial part thereof

either in its original or derivative form

E-Publishing

• e-Publishing is creating role reversals in the publishing industry

• Self publishing is made easier with the Web

• Print-on-demand will become widely available

E-Publishing SWOTStrengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

More control over final material

Hard to read Greater chance of being published Ability to add multimedia to a publication

Piracy

Better for the environment

Electronic readers are expensive

Books-on-demand will make every publication readily available in printed form

Copyright infringement

Higher royalties Amateur material is so abundant, it is difficult to get noticed

Easy, less expensive distribution

Few sales in a saturated market

Shorter publication times

Consumers reluctant to read from their computer screen

Subsidy e-publishing allows authors the chance to be published for a fee

Global availability

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