Copyright and Trademark Law

What you can use and how you

can use it legally.

Copyrights

Copyright: Definition
Copyrightisprotectionforintellectualproperty.
Givesacopyrightownertheexclusiverightto
controlcopingofawriting(orrecordingorpicture
orelectronictranscription).
Asacopyrightowner,youmayeitherallowor
preventanyoneelsefrommakingcopiesofyour
work,makingderivationfromyourwork(suchasa
postermadefromaphotograph,ordisplayingyour
workpublicly.

Intellectual Property
Intellectualpropertyconsistsofanythingan
individualhaswrittenorcreated.Itmightbe
music,text,pictures,photographs,sounds,
andsoon.

Derivative Works
Derivativeworksarecopyrightedmaterials
thathavebeenalteredorchanged.Such
materialisprotectedbycopyrightlaws.If
youalteracopyrightedphotographbyusing
computersoftware,thatphotographisstill
protected,andyoumaynotuseitwithout
writtenpermission.

Academic Standards
Academicstandardsforcopyrightedmaterialarehigher
thanothers.Becausescholarsandresearchersstudyso
manydifferentideasandareresponsibleforsharingthose
ideaswiththeworld,theyarerequiredtosatisfyhigher
standardsofhonesty.Theymustgivecreditnotonlywhen
quotingsomeoneelsesexactwordsbutalsofortheideas
thosewordsrepresent.Asaresearcher,youcannot
paraphrasewhatsomeoneelsesaysandnotgivecreditfor
it.

Bibliographies
Bibliographiesarelistsofsourcesthathavebeen
usedinresearch.WhenusingtheInternetfor
researchorfordesignwork,youneedtogivecredit
whereitisdue.Often,peoplewhousegraphicsand
imagesfromtheInternetforpublicationontheir
ownwebpagecreatealistofimagecreditsrather
thanabibliography.

Copyright:
Copyrightisaformofprotectionprovidedbythe
lawsoftheUnitedStates(title17,U.S.Code).
Copyrightprotectionsubsistsfromthetimethe
workiscreatedinfixedform.
Thecopyrightintheworkofauthorship
immediatelybecomesthepropertyoftheauthor
whocreatedthework.
Onlytheauthororthosederivingtheirrights
throughtheauthorcanrightfullyclaimcopyright.

Copyright: Duration
Copyrightslastfortheauthorslifetimeplus70
years.
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.

Copyright: Work made for hire

Inthecaseofworksmadeforhire,theemployerandnottheemployee
isconsideredtobetheauthor.
Section1ofthecopyrightlawdefinesa"workmadeforhire"as:
(1)aworkpreparedbyanemployeewithinthescopeofhisorher
employment;or
(2)aworkspeciallyorderedorcommissionedforuseas:

acontributiontoacollectivework
apartofamotionpictureorotheraudiovisualwork
atranslation
asupplementarywork
acompilation
aninstructionaltext
atest
answermaterialforatest
anatlas

Copyright: Work made for hire

If the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed
by them that the work shall be considered a work made for
hire....
The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright
in the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.
Copyright in each separate contribution to a periodical or
other collective work is distinct from copyright in the
collective work as a whole and vests initially with the
author of the contribution.

Copyright: Two General Principles

Mere ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, or any
other copy or phonorecord does not give the possessor
the copyright. The law provides that transfer of
ownership of any material object that embodies a
protected work does not of itself convey any rights in
the copyright.
Minors may claim copyright, but state laws may
regulate the business dealings involving copyrights
owned by minors.

Copyright:
Anitemiscopyrightprotectedbysimplybeingwritten
down.Itdoesnothavetoberegistered,butthataffordsit
greaterprotection.
Whatiscopyrightprotected:

books
websitesandinformationonwebsites
songs
memos
photos(eithertraditionallyorwithadigitalcamera)
letters
architectural works
etc.

Copyright: TheRules
Youcannotusecopyrightedmaterialwithout
writtenpermissionfromthecreatorofthematerial
(orfromitscopyrightholder).
Materialcanbeprotectedevenifitdoesnot
displaythesymbol.Evenifnomentionismade
regardingcopyright,youmustassumethatall
materialfromanothersourceisprotected.

Copyright: TheRules
Penaltiesforviolatingcopyrightlawscanrange
frommildtosevere.Ifyoubreakthecopyrightlaw,
youmightsimplyreceiveanemailmessagefrom
theauthoraskingyoutostopusingthematerial.If
youpublishthematerialonawebsite,the
webmastermightshutdownyoursite.Oryoucould
besuedbytheauthororprosecutedbyfederal
authorities.

Copyright: TheRules
Tomakesureyouarenotviolatinganycopyrightlaw,it
isimportantthatyoudothefollowing:
Writeorsendemailtotheauthororcreatorandask
permissiontousethematerial.Donotuseituntilyouare
givenpermission.
Followthedirectionsonthesiteregardinguseofmaterial.
Youmightbeaskedtocreatealinkonyourpageortonotify
theauthororcreator.
Mostimportant:Donotuseanymaterialifyoudonthave
writtenpermission.

Copyright: TheRules
Copyrightnoticeisnolongerrequiredtoobtain
protection,butitisoftenbeneficial.Copyrightnotice
forvisuallyperceptiblematerialshouldcontainthe
followingthreeelements:
Thesymbol(theletterCinacircle),ortheword
Copyright,ortheabbreviationCopr.
Theyearoffirstpublication
Thenameoftheownerofcopyright
Example:2012AdobeSystemsIncorporated

Copyright: TheRules
Copyrightnoticeforphonorecordsand
soundrecordingsshouldcontainthe
followingthreeelements.
Thesymbol(theletterPinacircle)
Thenameoftheownerofcopyright
Theyearoffirstpublication

Copyright: TheRules
Thecopyrightnoticeshouldbeaffixedin
suchawayastogivereasonablenoticeof
theclaimofcopyright.
Formoreinformationoncopyrights,visit
theUnitedStatesCopyrightOfficeonthe
Internetatwww.copyright.gov.

Copyright: Whenisitcoping
Savingamessageinemail(maybecoping).
Downloadinganarticlefromawebsite.
Xeroxingadocument.
Whenaworkistranslatedintootherlanguages.
Whenaworkisparaphrased,iftheyarecloseenough
totheoriginal.
Handwritingcopiesofotherpeopleswork.
Copingonlypartofadocument.

Copyright: Whenisitcoping
Note:somebehaviorbythecreatedofthe
itemcanimplypermissiontocopy.
Forinstance:Apersonalmessagefromone
persontoanother.Itcanbeassumedthat
messagecouldbeforwardedtoanother.
Amessagesenttoadiscussiongroupon
theinternetcanbeforwardtotherestof
themembersofthediscussiongroup.

Copyright: Whatisnotprotected
Factscannotbecopyrighted.
Ideasfromotherpeopleswork(couldbepatentinfringement);
however,youcannotcopythewordsusedtoexpresstheidea
orthedetails.
Singlewordsorshortphrases.
Copiesyoumakeofotherpeopleswork.
Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of
expression (for example: choreographic works that have not
been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or
performances that have not been written or recorded).

Copyright: Advantagesofobtaining
aregisteredcopyright
Registration establishes a public record of the copyright
claim.
Before an infringement suit may be filed in court,
registration is necessary for works of U. S. origin.
If made before or within 5 years of publication, registration
will establish prima facie evidence in court of the validity
of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.

Copyright: Advantagesofobtaining
aregisteredcopyright
If registration is made within 3 months after publication of
the work or prior to an infringement of the work, statutory
damages and attorney's fees will be available to the
copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an award
of actual damages and profits is available to the copyright
owner.
Registration allows the owner of the copyright to record
the registration with the U. S. Customs Service for
protection against the importation of infringing copies.

Copyright: FairUseDoctrine
Fairusedoctrineispartofthecopyrightlaws.Itstates
thatlimitedportionsofmaterialmaybeusedwithout
writtenpermissionforcertainpurposes,suchas
reportingthenewsorschoolwork.Itdoesntdefine
limited,though,sobe
sureyoudontoverusematerial.Thefairusedoctrine
requiresyoutogivecredittotheauthororcreatorofany
materialyouuse.

Copyright: FairUse
ForFairUsetoapply,youmustbeabletoanswer
YEStoalargeproportionofthesequestions:
Isyourusenoncommercial?
Isyouruseofpurposesofcriticism,comment,parody,
newsreporting,teaching,scholarship,orresearch?
Istheoriginalworkmostlyfact(asopposedtomostly
fictionoropinion)?
Hastheoriginalworkbeenpublished(asopposedtoit
beingsentoutonlytooneorafewpeople)?

Copyright: FairUse
Areyoucopyingonlyarelativelyinsignificantpart
oftheoriginalwork(asopposedtothemost
importantpart)?
Areyouaddingalotnewtothework(asopposed
tojustquotingpartsoftheoriginal)?
Doesyouconductleaveunaffectedanyprofitsthat
thecopyrightownercanmake(asopposedto
displacingsomepotentialsalesORpotential
licensesofreprintrights)?

Copyright: FairUse
Amanipulatedimagebecomethe"property"
oftheindividualwhomadethechangesto
theimagewhentheoriginalimagecannotbe
recognizedbyan"averageobserver."
Historically,artistscreating"oneofakind"
worksofartarepermittedconsiderable
latitudeinfairuseofcopyrightedmaterial.

Copyright: ObtainingRegistered
Copyrights
Copyrightsapplicationsareobtainedfrom
theU.S.CopyrightOffice,Libraryof
Congress,Washington,D.C.20559(Phone
2027079100)
Youcanregisterasingleitemoragroupfor
afeeof$30(currently).

Photography
and Privacy

Photos:TakingandUsingThem
Consentisneverlegallynecessarytophotograph
someoneorsomethinginpublicwhenthe
photographerdoesnotintendtodisseminatetheimage.
Permissionisgenerallynotnecessarywhenthe
photographisbeingusedasfineart,orinaneditorial
context(whenthephotographdoesnotdamagean
individual'sreputationorshowapersonina
compromisingsituation).
ConsentISnecessary,whenthephotographisbeing
usedforadvertisingorcommercialpurposes.

Trademarks and
Service Marks

Trademarks: What are they

Tobeatrademarktheitemsmustpastseveraltest:
Itmustbeactuallyusedasanidentifierofparticulargoods
orservices:youcantgetatrademarkinsomegreatnew
nameyouvecomeupwithforyounewproductuntilyou
actuallystartusingthenametoidentifythatproduct.
Ithastobeinsomewaydistinctive,notwhatcourtscall
ordinaryormerelydescriptiveorgeneric;youcantuse
trademarktoprotectthecommonnameofyourproduct.
Themarkmustnotbeconfusinglysimilartoanyoneelses
trademarkthatisalreadyinuse.

Trademarks: What are they

Words,symbolsanddesigns,sounds,
distinctivecolorsvirtuallyanythingthatcan
beusedtoidentifyspecificgoodsorservices
anddistinguishtheminthemarketfrom
othersimilargoodsorservicesis
*potentially*atrademark.

Trademarks: Examples
CocaCola
Velveeta
JiffyLube
Xerox
IBM
Adobe
FordMotorCompany
HewlettPackard

Trademarks: Trademarks vs.

Service Marks
A trademarka word, phrase, symbol or
design, or a combination of words, phrases,
symbols or designs, that identifies and
distinguishes the source of the goods of one
party from those of others.
A service markthe same as a trademark,
except that it identifies and distinguishes the
source of a service rather than a product.

Trademarks: Obtaininga
Trademark
Youcreateadistinctitemforuseandbegin
usingit.
Itdoesnothavetoberegistered,butthat
affordsitgreaterprotection.
Toregisteratrademark,youapplytotheUS
PatentandTrademarkOffice
http://www.uspto.gov/index.html

Trademarks: Registration
Advantages
Constructive notice to the public of the
registrant's claim of ownership of the mark;
A legal presumption of the registrant's ownership
of the mark and the registrant's exclusive right to
use the mark nationwide on or in connection with
the goods and/or services listed in the
registration;
the ability to bring an action concerning the mark
in federal court;

Trademarks: Registration
Advantages
the use of the U.S registration as a basis
to obtain registration in foreign
countries; and
the ability to file the U.S. registration
with the U.S. Customs Service to
prevent importation of infringing
foreign goods.

Trademarks: Whencanyouuse
someonestrademark
Whenadvertisingthataproductcanbeusedwith
anotherproductorbeanotherproduct.
Whenwritinganarticlethatreferstoaproductname.
MarketaVERYDISSIMILARproductundera
namealreadyused.
Examples:LotusAutomobiles/LotusSoftware
AdobeTiles/AdobeSoftware

Trademarks: TMandSMvs.
TMreferstoandunregisteredtrademark.
SMreferstoandunregisteredservicemark.

meansthatthetrademarkhasbeen

registeredwiththeUSPatentandTrademark
Office.Itcanonlybeusedafterthe
registrationisapproved.

References:
CyberspaceLawforNonLawyersbyLarryLessig.DavidPost.and
EugeneVolokh
http://www.eff.org/legal/CyberLaw_Course/
US Patient and Trademark Office Website: Basic Facts about
Trademarks
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/basic/
US Copyright Office Website:
http://www.copyright.gov/