COPYRIGHT BASICS

The primary objective of copyright is not to reward the labor of authors, but "[to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts." To this end, copyright assures authors the right to their original expression, but encourages others to build freely upon the ideas and information conveyed by a work....This result is neither unfair nor unfortunate. It is the means by which copyright advances the progress of science and art.
- -- Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural
  Telephone Service Co., 499 US 340, 349 (1991)

Owners and developers of web pages are often faced with the dilemma of protecting their work from those that would copy it. Many people that would otherwise never be involved in the process of procuring a copyright, now find themselves in a position of needing one. To complicate matters, the very nature of the Web makes the enforcement of copyright difficult.

It is my intention in writing this article to introduce you to the basics of copyright. This is not legal advice, I am simply providing you with information and resources to make the task of copyrighting your web pages easier. The precepts that I present here relate to U.S. copyright law, but apply to most other countries as well.

A copyright is a form of legal protection, provided by law, granted to authors of "original works of authorship". This protection applies to both published and unpublished works, and is granted to an author regardless of nationality or domicile. It begins from the time the work is created in fixed form, in any tangible medium. A copyright normally, immediately becomes the property of the author that created the work. An exception to this is for an employee who was hired to create a work.

Here is a list of the type of works that are copyrightable under U.S. law:

Literary works.
Musical works (this includes accompaniment and lyrics).
Dramatic works (including any musical accompaniment).
Pantomimes and choreographic works.
Graphic, pictorial, and sculptural works.
Motion pictures and other audiovisual works.
Sound recordings.
Computer programs and displays.
Advertising copy (including graphics and textual material).
Maps.

It should be noted that while your original work can be copyrighted, the protection does not follow through to your ideas or concepts. The copyright statute states, "In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work". Many books have been written about World War II, and while the work of each author may be protected, no one is barred from writing yet another book on the subject. Some things that cannot be copyrighted are:

Speeches, songs or performances that have not been written down or recorded.
Names.
Slogans.
Typographic ornamentation.
Lettering or coloring.
Lists of ingredients or contents.
Calendars.
Height and weight charts (and other works of common property).

Originality is the key to obtaining a copyright. Originality in the case of copyright is very vague indeed. As long as you do not sit down and blatantly plagiarize or (in the case of graphics) copy another's work, you will probably have an original enough work to obtain your own copyright. This raises the question of whether or not a copyright is worth filing. You must be the judge of this. Filing a copyright is relatively easy and inexpensive, and it does provide you with an amount of protection.

What are your rights as a copyright owner?

The owner of a copyright has the right to do, and authorize others to do the following:

Reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords.
Prepare derivative works (such as arrangements, dramatizations or translations) based on the copyrighted work.
Distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease or lending.
Performing the copyrighted work publicly (this applies to literary, musical, dramatic, pantomimes, choreographic works, motion pictures and other audiovisual works).
Displaying the copyrighted work publicly (this applies to literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic works, pantomimes, pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, and includes individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work).

In the case of collective works, such as the periodical you are reading now, the entire collective work can be copyrighted. However, there is a separate copyright that extends to the author of each part of this collective work. The magazine has in effect only purchased "first rights". The copyright for each individual article, unless otherwise stipulated by contract, belongs to the writer of that article.

A copyright is effective from the time of its creation and endures for a term consisting of the life of the author and 50 years after the author's death. And it should be noted that there are laws covering the "fair use" of copyrighted material, which we are not going to delve into here. Copyright infringement is criminal and can carry both fines and imprisonment. In addition to criminal penalties there is also a civil liability in many cases. If you suspect that you are involved in copyright infringement it would be wise to consult with an attorney.