Copyright U.S. Code Title 17

Copyright U.S. Code Title 17

1. Terms

   • on or after 1/1/78
     • life + 70 yrs. after last surviving author
   • before 1/1/78
     • life + 70 or 95/120
   • works for hire, anonymous, pseudonymous
     • 95 yrs. from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever shorter
   • 56 - 95 yrs. max transfer term

2. Covered and Uncovered Types

   • covered - literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, architecture works
     • books, magazines, art, software, sound recordings
   • not covered - ideas, facts, data, works by the government, logos, taglines (but may be subject to TM laws)

3. General Rules

   • can't copy or distribute intellectual property
   • permission needed to email published research, put a report online, reprint article in a newsletter, photocopy articles for meetings

4. What it Does

   • grants protection to creators of "original works of authorship"
     • unpublished and published
     • protection goes to employer in "work made for hire"
       • works for hire include work created by employee for work, part of a movie, atlas, test, translation
   • protection is automatic
     • starts when work is created in fixed form
     • registration not required
   • owner has exclusive rights to reproduce, derivative works, distribute copies by sale, rental, lease, or lending, perform or display publicly
   • applies to any work in the U.S. and works first published in the U.S. by "treaty party"
     • treaty party is a country or intergovernmental organization party to international agreement

5. Dates

   • 1790 Copyright Act
   • 1909 revision - publication no longer required
   • 1976 revision- extended renewal from 28 to 47 yrs.
   • 1998 Public Law 105 - 298 added 20 yrs. to renewal, or 67 yrs., 95 total

6. Copyright Transfer

   • copyright can be transferred as it is personal property
     • transfer must be in writing and signed by owner or authorized agent

7. Exceptions

   • section 107 - fair use
     • four factors
       • purpose and character of use - educational vs. commercial
       • nature of copyrighted work - fact vs. fiction
       • amount and substantiality - smaller the better
       • effect on market
   • compulsory license
   • public domain - the Bible, Creative Commons
   • section 108 - libraries and archives
     • first sale enables libraries to lend books
     • rule of five - materials less than five yrs. old, less than or equal to five articles
     • use copyright notice on all materials
     • DMCA 1998
       • Title I
         • prohibitions on circumvention of protection technologies
         • title 1201 exemptions for nonprofit libraries and archives - numerous qualifiers
       • Title II
         • limitations on online service providers (OSP)
       • Title IV
         • digital preservation
         • authorized may make less than or equal to three copies
         • electronically loan
         • preservation when existing format obsolete
   • section 110 - educational
     • face to face instruction
     • 2002 TEACH
       • Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act
       • distance education - section 109 digital technology and software