Copyright Basics

Question 1

What is intellectual property rights? (i.p.)

Answer 1

a collection of rights that includes copyright among other rights such as patents.

Question 2

What does intellectual property entail?

Answer 2

Copyrights, patents, trademarks

Question 3

What is copyright?

Answer 3

the rights of authors in works of authorship

Question 4

What does copyright protect against?

Answer 4

Copyright protects the expression in a work of authorship against copying.

Question 5

What does copyright not protect?

Answer 5

does not protect the underlying ideas embodied in a work; neither does it protect against independent development.

Question 6

how do you get a copyright?

Answer 6

A work is immediately given a basic copyright as soon as it is committed to a transferable medium.

Question 7

explain a copyright

Answer 7

the exclusive and assignable legal right, given to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material.

Question 8

How does a work afford a copyright?

Answer 8

1. it must Be an expression of an idea
2. have some amount of authorship

Question 9

What are the requirements to qualify for copyright?

Answer 9

1. must be a work of authorship.
2. Must be original work.
3. Must be fixed to a tangible and transferrable medium

Question 10

What works does copyright entail?

Answer 10

1. Literary or textual works of all kinds
2. Pictorial, graphic, architectural and sculptural works
3. Musical, dramatic and choreographed works
4. Sounds recordings
5. Computer programs, most websites, and various other digitized works.

Question 11

What is an example of fixation(Tangible medium)

Answer 11

Compact Disks, hard disks, SSD drives and flash storage

Question 12

What are a copyright holder’s exclusive rights?

Answer 12

• The right to perform or display it publicly.
• The right to create an offshoot or sequel (called a derivative work).
• The right to copy it.
• The right to distribute copies of it.

Question 13

what are the Principal limiting doctrines of copyright?

Answer 13

1. Copyright does not protect against independent development, only against copying.
2. Copyright does not protect ideas, only the way the ideas are expressed.
3. Copyright does not protect individual words and short phrases.
4. Copyright does not protect procedures, processes, systems, concepts or methods of operation that are embodied in works; only the particular way they are expressed.

Question 14

what are the 2 basic kinds of copyright?

Answer 14

1. Songwriters hold the rights to the lyrics and melody of a piece of music.
2. Performing artists hold the rights to a particular performance of a song. Recorded or played live.

Question 15

Under what circumstances can a Copyright be used by someone else?

Answer 15

Copyrights can be transferred only by an express assignment in writing. This is known as a License.

Question 16

What is Copyright infringement ?

Answer 16

The unauthorized exercise by a third party of any of the exclusive rights of copyright holders, such as copying, is copyright infringement.

Question 17

what are the Four factors to decide whether a particular use is fair?

Answer 17

1. purpose & character of use
2. Nature of copyrighted work
3. Amount and substantiality of what was taken
4. Effect on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

Question 18

What is the public domain?

Answer 18

When a work becomes available for use without permission from a copyright owner

Question 19

how do you determine whether a work is in the public domain?

Answer 19

you have to find out when it was published.
eg. South Africa = a work enters public domain, 70 years after the death of the artist.

Question 20

what is an open or “free” license?

Answer 20

a license which allows others to reuse another creators work as they wish without a special license.