Computer Skills Topic : DRM, CoprRight, and You

Putting the "C" into Copyright. Have you ever really noticed the copyright symbol © (C) on your CD's, in books or on a video box? Do you know what that symbol actually means and how it protects creativity? As we speak, people like you who never thought about copyright are learning what it is and how it protects the world of creative ideas. Hope you understand a little bit about copyright law by helping you focus on your own art and your own creations. Know that you are truly in charge of what you create. ©

Examples of Why You or Anybody Else Should Care By now, you should be very familiar with JK Rowlings, the author of the Harry Potter books. She wrote the first Harry Potter story as a single mom on welfare while sitting in coffee shops to stay warm as her infant daughter napped. She dreamt of one day being able to publish here work and of being able to support herself by writing. Eventually, she found a publisher who wanted to publish her book, and the rest is history. Now the whole world knows and loves Harry Potter …and JK Rowlings is able to support her family beyond her wildest dreams. Her ability to continue to create the books that are loved by so many is due to the fact that her ideas are protected. This is copyright power! What if someone else had published JK Rowlings books, taken credit for her ideas and made all the money without paying her anything? How would she feel? How would she be able to continue writing? As the creator of your work, you have the right to control what people can and cannot do with your work. Creators from the United States provide one of the world's biggest sources of works like movies, television shows, books, computer games, software, photographs, music etc. -- this right to control your work has actually turned into big business. Generally speaking, there are many businesses that distribute, publish and bring to us all the wonderful songs, television shows, books, pictures, movies, games, software and other great works that we enjoy and allow the creative people we admire to get paid for their ideas. These talented musicians, authors, illustrators and screenwriters deserve our respect and appreciation - and they deserve to make a living from the hard work they put into their creative works -- otherwise most of them wouldn't be able to produce as many (or any) of the songs, books, games, movies and TV shows that you like. That's what copyright is all about.

Ways to Protect Creative Work Copyright Patent Trademark

History of Copyright

In the beginning... The Congress shall have Power... To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Author and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries; –United States Constitution, Article 1, Section  first mention of phrase “Intellectual Property” in US court decision. –(much more expansive and exclusive than rights associated with traditional physical goods)

US Copyright Laws – Major copyright revision: –Establishes new lengths of copyright protection (changed again in 1978) –Covers unpublished works: –Introduces “Fair Use”... –Copyright law in the United States is embodied in federal laws enacted by Congress. The current copyright law, the Copyright Act of 1976 (as amended), is codified in Title 17 of the U.S. Code.

Rights of a Creative Work Copyright is a bundle of "exclusive rights" given to the author of any such work. What that means is that, as the author of the work, you alone have the right (the exclusive right) to do any of the following or to give others permission to do any of the following: 1. Make copies of your work; 2. Distribute copies of your work; 3. Perform your work publicly (such as for plays, film, or music); 4. Display your work publicly (such as for artwork, or any material used on the Internet or television); and 5. Make "derivative works" (including making modifications, adaptations or other new uses of a work that are derived from the original, …which also includes translating the work to another media).

Which Works Are Protected by Copyright? Copyrightable works fall into the following categories: * Literary works (i.e., all text, which includes computer software); * Musical works, including any accompanying words; * Dramatic works, including any accompanying music; * Pantomimes and choreographic works; * Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; * Motion pictures and other audiovisual works; * Sound recordings; and * Architectural works.

Which Works Are Not Protected by Copyright? Not everything is protected by copyright law. The following are categories of things not protected: * Ideas, concepts, or discoveries -- unless they are documented in written form -- in which case the written description is protected by copyright as text; * Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans (but some titles and words might be protected under trademark law if their use is associated with a particular product or service); * Works that are not fixed in a tangible form of expression, such as an improvised speech or dance that is not written down or otherwise recorded; * Works consisting entirely of information that is commonly available and contains no originality (for example, standard calendars, standard measures and rulers, lists or tables compiled from public documents or other common sources); and * Anything written or created by the US government.

Copyright Laws According to the Copyright Law of the United States: -No one may copy, change, display or use your work in any way without your permission. -You have the control over what people can and cannot do with your work. -All creative people have the right to control what happens to their copyrights including being paid for coming up with all the wonderful songs, shows, books, paintings, computer games, movies, and other original works that we all enjoy.

Notice of Copyright The use of a copyright notice has not been required under U.S. law since March 1, However, the use of notice is very important because it informs the public that the work is protected by copyright, by identifying the copyright owner, and showing the year that it was first sold or distributed to the public. Form of Notice The notice for visually perceptible copies (like books and posters) should contain all of these items: * The symbol © (the letter "C" in a circle), or the word "Copyright" or the abbreviation "Copr."; * The year of first publication of the work; and * The name of the copyright owner. Example: © 2001 John Doe

When And How Do I Register a Copyright? Registration may be made any time before the term of copyright expires. Registration is not needed for copyright protection, but there are many good reasons to do so. * Registration establishes a public record of the copyright. * Registration is necessary before an infringement lawsuit may be brought. * Students who want to get a copyright contact the Copyright Office website at for more information on registration.

How Long Does Copyright Protection Last? Copyrights do not last forever. Under the current laws, copyright protection starts from the moment of creation of the work and continues until 70 years after the death of the author or artist. "Public domain:" When the term of a copyright expires (meaning it's finished), the work falls into what's called the "public domain." When a work is in the public domain anyone can copy it and use it without permission. For works made for hire and for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the author's identity is revealed in Copyright Office records), the duration of copyright will be 95 years from publication (or 120 years from creation (whichever is shorter)). Works created when prior copyright laws were in effect had shorter terms. Under the law in effect before 1978, the copyright lasted for a first term of 28 years. The owner could renew for an additional 28-year term at the end of the first term. Because later laws extended the terms of many earlier copyrights, and you cannot assume that any work is in the public domain (meaning anyone can use it) unless it was first published before 1923.

Fair Use One major limitation is the doctrine of "Fair Use." The "Fair Use" doctrine allows limited copying of copyrighted works for educational and research purposes.

Fair Use “The fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright."

The Fair Use Test: 1.Purpose and Character of Use 2.Nature of Copyrighted work 3.Amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the whole 4.Effect of the use on the potential market

Fair Use / Exceptions The "Fair Use" doctrine allows limited copying of copyrighted works for educational and research purposes. The copyright law provides that reproduction "for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research" is not an infringement of copyright. Clear examples of fair use include: class handouts of very short excerpts from a book, quoting for purposes of reporting the news and criticizing or commenting on a particular work of art, writing, speech or scholarship. The law lists the four factors, which courts must consider together and weigh in determining whether a particular use of a copyrighted work is a permitted "Fair Use," or is instead an infringement of the copyright: * The purpose and character of the use: a noncommercial, educational use is more likely to be a fair use; * The nature of the copyrighted work: the more factual and less creative the work, the more likely it will be fair use; * The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole: the more taken the less likely to be fair use; and * The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work: in other words, is the use taking away from the copyright owner money that he or she might have been making from the work.

BetaMax Decision

1979  1984: Betamax Decision –Time Shifting: recording TV to view later. –Deemed ‘Fair Use’ -Technology that could be used to commit crime was not criminal technology if there were “substantial non-infringing uses“ (predominant use)

Limited Use by Schools 1983  School system taping shows and distributing throughout school system: Unfair use  Digital Millennium Copyright Act –Unlawful to break encryption –Outlaws the manufacture, sale, or distribution of code-cracking devices used to illegally copy software, except for educational or security purposes

Digital Rights Management DRM: Digital Rights Management. –Any effort made to protect data from copying. Intends to: –Prevent copying –Prevent loading on multiple computers May also: –Prevent older devices from playing media –Install ‘spyware programs’ –Introduce flaws in Operating Systems making computers vulnerable to exploit (Sony’s rootkit)

Groups Trying to Protect their work: RIAA  Recording Industry Association of America MPAA  Motion Picture Association of America EFF  Electronic Freedom Foundation