1. INTRODUCTION TO
COPYRIGHT ACT
USA
Submitted By:
Sudhanshu Bharti (VIT- CS)

2. Structure of the Presentation
Three parts
 (1) Copyright in US
 (2) Infringement of Copyright
 (3) Case Study: Copyrighting Digital
Techniques

3. What is Copyright?
 “The exclusive right given by law for a
certain term of years to an author,
composer etc. (or his assignee) to print,
publish and sell copies of his original work”
(Oxford English Dictionary)

4. Why Copyright?
 Fair Play: Reward creative efforts.
 Exclusive rights for limited
time → Negative right:
prevent copying/reproduction
 Copyright is necessary →
encourage dissemination of
copyrighted works = public interest

5. The Copyright Act 1976

6. US Constitution
Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 gave Congress
the power to enact laws “To promote the
progress of science and useful arts, by
securing for limited times to authors and
inventors the exclusive right to their
respective writings and discoveries.”

7. United States
 First Act in 1790: did not protect foreign
authors
 Indigenous American literature
suffered
 Today: Copyright Act 1976 one
of the major copyright laws in
the world

8. Copyright Act 1976 – Main
Features
 Valid from 1 January 1978
 Created by United States Patent and
Trademark Office
 Introduced Time bound work & creativity
avoiding infringement

9. Copyright Act 1976 – Purpose
 To give the creator control and a monopoly on
royalties for a period of time promotes
creativity
 All creators, including photographers and
illustrators are entitled to be paid if their work
is used, commercially or otherwise. This
encourages creativity and makes more images
available for use.

10. How Copyright protects
works
Copyright protects "original works of
authorship" that are fixed in "a tangible
form of expression." The fixed form does
not have to be directly perceptible so long
as it can be communicated with the aid of
a machine or other device.

11. What Works are Protected?

12.  Must be an original work of authorship,
meaning that the work must be
independently created by the author (as
opposed to copied from other works).
 The U.S.’ required level of originality is
very low. Other countries’ laws may differ
in this respect.

13.  Literary works (e.g., all text, including
computer software);
 Musical works;
 Dramatic works;
 Pantomimes and choreographic works;
 Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
 Motion pictures and other audiovisual
works;

14. What Works are Not
Protected?

15.  Works that have not been fixed in a
tangible form of expression
 Titles, names; familiar symbols or designs;
mere variations of lettering; mere listings
of ingredients or content
 Works consisting entirely of common
property, containing no original authorship
 Ideas, procedures, concepts, principles

16. Registration Process
A copyright owner must:
 File an application;
 Pay a nominal filing fee ($30); and
 Deposit copies of the work at the
Copyright Office. Some of the works may
be added to the collections of the Library
of Congress.

17. Registration
 Registration is administered by the U.S.
Copyright Office of the Library of
Congress.
 Forms available at www.copyright.gov
 Registration does not involve complex
examination of applications as for patents
and trademarks.

18. What is Fair Use?
 Class handouts of very short excerpts
from a book;
 Quoting for purposes of reporting the
news or criticizing or commenting on a
particular work of art, writing, speech or
scholarship.

19. What is not Fair Use?
 Using a photograph or other image to
illustrate a newsworthy story (because the
subject of the story is newsworthy it does
not make the image newsworthy)

20. Who owns copyright?
 A freelance artist who created the
copyrighted work;
 An employer who hires employees who
create copyrighted works as part of their
job.
 Any person who is using the work only for
personal use.

21. What is infringement?
 Use of whole or part of an image without
permission;
 Use beyond the scope of a license;
 Adapting an image without permission
(art rendering, collage);
 Asking another photographer to recreate
the image.

22. Unauthorized use
This image was
created by a
computer graphics
artist who “borrowed”
images from several
sources.

23. Original art
These are the two images that were infringed upon
to create the Newsday cover.

24. Change of medium is still an
infringement

25. Recreating an image…

26. Who is responsible?
 The company that directly infringed;
 Employees who participated in the infringement
or should have supervised;
 Anyone who publishes the infringing image
whether they had knowledge or not.

27. How to avoid infringement?
 Obtain a license for all the uses that will be
needed;
 Obtain a license to create a derivative image;
 Obtain an art rendering or art reference license
to change the medium.

28. The WIPO “Internet” Treaties
28
 Negotiated in 1996 under the auspices of the World
Intellectual Property Organization, part of the United
Nations.
 The WIPO Copyright Treaty entered into force with 30
ratifications on March 6, 2002.
 The WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
entered into force with 30 ratifications on May 20,
2002.
 The U.S. implemented the Treaties through the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act.

29. Three New Obligations
29
Established
 The Right of Making Available to the Public;
 Legal Protection of Technological Measures to
Protect Copyrighted Works (“TPMs”); and
 Legal Protection of Rights Management
Information (“RMI”).

30. Digital Millennium Copyright
30 Act
 1998 U.S. implementation of the treaties;
 Extends U.S. copyright law into the digital
realm; and
 Prohibits circumvention of technological
protection measures;
 Prevents tampering with rights management
information;
 Limits infringement liability for ISPs that meet
certain criteria.

31. Case Study
Universal Studios Vs. Reimerdes
 Court – Started in 2d.Cir.(Second Circuit)
 Date – August 17, 2000
 Affirmed the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act.

32. Case Laws
 The plaintiffs, 8 movie studios, successfully sought
an injunction against the distribution of DeCSS, a
program capable of decrypting content protected
using the Content Scramble System (a DRM scheme
commonly used to protect DVDs.)

33. Case Laws
 It was produced and released without a license from
DVD CCA, the trade organization responsible for
DVD copy protection. DeCSS was released in
October 1999 on LiViD, a mailing list focused on
producing programming tools and software libraries
relevant to DVD use on Linux.

34. Case Laws
 The motion picture industry became aware of the
existence of DeCSS later that same month and
began litigation on a number of fronts.
 The Case got registered in many courts.
 Both the district and appellate court rulings were
controversial.
 Despite the courts' rulings, DeCSS is still widely
available on the Internet.

35. Why should anyone care?
 Substantial monetary damages can be awarded
(actual damages; profits)
 Statutory damages ($750-$30,000 and up to
$150,000 if the infringement was willful)
 The infringing use enjoined;
 Attorney’s fees

36. Popular Copyright Myths
 if it’s on the internet it is in the public domain
and therefore free;
 if there is no copyright notice, I can use the
image;
 if I alter the image I don’t need permission;
 if I don’t profit from it, I can use it;
 if I only use a part of the image I don’t need
permission.

37. BE CREATIVE...AND
RESPECT COPYRIGHT

38. THANK YOU!