[INFO] "Info on Copywrite"(a.a-a,a.a-a.a)

Readers of alt.ascii-art,please dont let
the following start any wars,its just so 
everyone that wants to know _can_ know the
facts involved in the word "copywrite".
Some will read this and weep,others will
rejoice,but it really doesnt matter,
its the law in about 96 countries.

[The first link at the bottom has links
to law specific to other countries 
besides USA]



The issue of copywrite has been brought up
several times in this ng and as this ng
is about art,the issues of copywrite
seem to me to be relevant.I have often
wondered how many of the readers/posters
actually know a damn thing about copywrite,
and to educate everyone that decides to read
on, i have copyied for the purpose of education
the following stuff:

[Original can be found at http://www.a-w.org/info.htm]




=============Begin copywrite info================

Three Important Copyright Points

The United States affords protection to the authors
of certain original works as provided by the United
States Code on Copyright. In order to avoid the problems
involved in copyright infringement it is important to
understand the fundamentals of copyright law. Three
important points are:

     The notice of copyright 
     Just what does copyright protect 
     The duration of copyright 

1. Notice Of Copyright

     It is not necessary to attach a copyright notice
     to a work in order for that work to be copyrighted.
     However, in order to be eligible for certain
     damages in a lawsuit, the copyright notice must
     be attached.

     A copyright notice should contain:

          the symbol � (THE LETTER C IN A CIRCLE), or
          the word "Copyright" or the abbreviation "Copr."
          , and;the year of first publication of the work,
          and; the name of the owner of copyright in
          the work.

     Example: �1997 Jane Doe

2. What Types of Work Does Copyright Protect?

     Copyright protects original works of expression.
     These works include:

          literary 
          dramatic, including accompanying music 
          pantomimes and choreographic 
          pictorial, graphic and sculptural 
          motion pictures and other audiovisual 
          sound recordings, and 
          architectural 

3. Duration of Copyright

     Before 1978 
          published: Copyright expires 75 years from
          the date of publication
          not published:Copyright expires 12/31/02

     1978 through present 
          individually owned: life of author plus
          50 years
          owned by employer of author: 75 years from
          date of publication or 100 years from date
          of creation, whichever occurs first.



Berne Convention

In 1989 the United States joined the Berne Convention
for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
The Berne Convention is an international copyright
treaty signed by 96 countries. The regulations are
far more stringent than United States copyright laws.
The Berne Convention recently extended the term of
protection to the life of the author plus 75 years.
The United States law is expected to follow suit.



Fair Use

See 17 United States Code Section 107- 
Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Fair Use-

For certain purposes, such as criticism, comment,
news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies
for classroom use), scholarship or research, is
not an infringement of copyright. In making this
determination of fair use these 4 factors must be
considered:

     purpose and character of use, whether of a
     commercial nature or for nonprofit educational purposes; 
     the nature of the copyrighted work; 
     the amount and substantiality of the portion
     used in relation to the copyrighted work as a
     whole; and the effect of the use upon the potential
     market for or value of the copyrighted work. 



Public Domain

Public domain is a legal term which refers to the
end of term of copyright and thereafter. You can be
certain that you would never come across any erotic
photography on the web that would be considered public
domain. Remember, copyright begins with the creator
of a work (a photo, an article,etc.) and continues
through that author's life plus 50 years. Only then
is that work in the "public domain". Anyone who simply
puts up sites with photos they grabbed elsewhere off
the Internet is most certainly infringing someone's
copyrights. You can be certain that this includes all
celebrity images as well. A celebrity image with all
applicable model releases would allow the copyright
owner economic freedom to sell or assign the rights to
that image.

The Public Domain is made up of all those works,
that for whatever reason are not protected by copyright.
Works in the Public Domain are free to use
without permission. These include:

     originally non-copyrightable 
     lost copyright 
     expired copyright 
     authored by the Federal Government 
     specifically granted to the Public Domain 
===============end copywrite info====================

Here are some more links to copywrite info and 
sources,Please read some of them and educate your
self.Particulary i would read the "Notes on fair use"
page listed below.

APIC
http://www.a-w.org/

10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained 
http://www.clari.net/brad/copymyths.html

Notes on fair use
http://www.cetus.org/fairindex.html

Copyright Basics; US Copyright Office
http://www.virtualschool.edu/mon/ElectronicProperty/CopyrightLaw.html

Yahoo! - Government:Law:Intellectual Property:Copyrights
http://www.yahoo.com/Government/Law/Intellectual_Property/Copyrights/


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