Copyright Policies

David VetranoPatrick ConaboyAlex McGuiganGrace Monach

Introduction to Copyright Law

• Copyright is a form of intellectual property that governs creative works

• Often conflated with other forms of intellectual property, such as patents and trademarks

• Grants the creator exclusive control over their created works

• Fair use allows commentary, research, or reporting on copyrighted materials

• Laws related to copyright have often failed to remain technologically relevant

• Controversy about the role of copyright and other forms of intellectual property in the modern world

• Dispute over extent and applicability of concepts such as fair use and accountability for violators

Overview

• Administrated by the United State Copyright Office

• Codified in a series of laws and legal decisions – primarily the Copyright Act of 1976

• Implemented in many countries through the Berne Convention Agreement and the World Intellectual Property Organization

Background

• First codified by state laws and common law until Copyright Act of 1790 which was drawn from the British 1709 Statute of Anne –covered only books and charts

• Duration extended by Copyright Act of 1909 to 28 years with a second renewable term

• Primarily expanded by various court cases and state laws

Background since 1976

• Copyright Act of 1976 codified many previous expansions and solidified definitions

• Berne Convention in 1988 established an international concept of copyrights among signing nations

• Increasing dispute over fair use and international violations of copyright law – court cases and DMCA act

Copyright Act of 1976• Federalized copyrights,

overrides all conflicting common and state codes

• Basis of current IP law• Defined creative works

and exclusive rights• Codified the concept of

fair use• Provides for transfer and

registration of copyrights

Creative Works:• Literary• Musical• Dramatic• Choreographic• Pictorial• Audiovisual• Sound recording• Architectural

Exclusive Rights:• Reproduction• Derivative works• Sale• Public

performance• Public display• Perform sound

recording

Fair Use Depending on:• Purpose of use commercial or non-profit• Nature of copyrighted work• Amount and proportion of use• Effect on the value of the work

Copyright Legislation

• Copyright Term Extension Act – 1998

• Extended duration of copyright to the current limit

• 70 years after death of the author

• Corporate authorship: 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication

• Digital Millennium Copyright Act – 1998

• Illegal to create or distribute a device whose primary purpose is copyright circumvention

• Controversial because of difficulty determining the intent of the device

• Created exemptions and safe harbors for ISPs and certain uses

Copyright Court Law

• Midway v. Artic International: Videogames covered under fixation, work does not need to be written down in the exact way that it will appear - 1982

• Feist v. Rural: Collections of facts cannot be copyrighted, only the creative aspects of the collection - 1991

• Computer Associates v. Altai: Established a test for copyright infringement for software - 1992

• Campell v. Acuff-Rose Music: Ruled that the commercial value of parodies is not the dominant factor in tests of fair use

Fair Use and Accountability CasesSony v. Universal City Studios -

1984• Creation of individual copies

of creative work is fair use• Manufacturers of recording

devices cannot be held liable for infringement by their users

• Legalized devices that could be used for infringement as long as they had significant commercial non-infringing uses

MGM Studios v. Grokster Ltd. - 2005

• Distributors of devices who promote copyright violation are liable for infringement by users

• Differing interpretations – uncertainty whether inducement by the distributor is necessary for them to be liable

The Benefits of Copyright Law

The Benefits

• Helps protect creators rights.

• Fosters the creation of new media.– Without Copyright Law, many people would see

no point in creating new music or film, because there would be no reason to pay for It.

• Prevents piracy.

Criticism - DMCA

• Copy protection technology– Example: requires companies producing analog

video equipment o implement proprietary Macrovision technology

• Bias toward copyright owners– Example: website owners are effectively required

to take down all potentially infringing content, since they can later be charged for not removing it

Sample: A Macrovision-Encoded Video

http://deinterlace.sourceforge.net/images/Mummy_MacrovisionOn.jpg

Criticism – Digital Rights Management

• Digital Rights Management (DRM) imposes limitations on what a user can do with their purchased content

• Some argue that the existence of these limits violates the fair use rights of those that purchase the content legally

• Consequently, groups such as Freeculture.org advocate the boycott of DRM-ed content, instead supporting openly-licensed content

Criticism – DRM, Part Two

• Other technical criticisms of DRM:– Potential incompatibility with future systems– License-based systems often require mediation by

a server, violating user privacy– Watermarking and other systems can decrease

media quality artificially

General Criticisms• Copyright is too inflexible– New technologies and mediums necessitate new

types of protection– This protection will likely require changes in legal

doctrine which take time• The changes that have occurred are not well-

suited to current technology– They don’t accomplish the goal of economic viability

while still encouraging innovation– Often rely on proprietary technologies or restrictive

licensing

Opinion - Piracy is Not a Problem for the Industry

• Studies have shown that album sales have almost no relationship to the number of illegal downloads of the same album (Silverthorne).

• Many who download would not have made a purchase in the first place.

• In fact, sales may be helped by peer to peer music sharing.

Opinion – Piracy is Ultimately Harmful

• Piracy allows users to obtain the product without agreeing to the producers’ terms

• Undermines the market for creative work• Robs artists of revenue – driving them out of

business and preventing them from creating additional creative works

• Hampers the ability of future artists to make a living off of their creative works

Future and Conclusion• Groups such as the RIAA and MPAA may embrace the

DRM-free formats, in the wake of recent studies which suggest that DRM does very little to discourage piracy, and that it may actually be a motivation in some cases

• New content distribution systems and experimental business models designed to better profit off of digital media will likely arise. They may, for example, provide music for free with obligatory advertising

• Finally, as digital media takes increasing precedence over more traditional forms of media, copyright policies will need to adapt to protect the rights of individuals and copyright owners alike

Sourceshttp://freeculture.org

Global dimensions of intellectual property rights in science and technology [computer file] / Office of International Affairs, National Research Council ; edited by Mitchel B. Wallerstein, Mary Ellen Mogee, Roberta A. Schoen. <http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=889>.

Silverthorne, Sean. Music Downloads: Pirates- or Customers?. Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, 2004. <http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/4206.html>.

RIAA et al. says CD ripping, backups not fair use. Ars Technica. 15 February 2006. <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060215-6190.html>.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com

http://www.enfacto.com