(Newswire.net — April 27, 2020) —
Why is it Important to Avoid copyright infringement?
The form of Intellectual Property (IP), given to a creator of a work, gets regarded as the Copyright of the work that’s been given to the creator.
According to the Copyright Act, it is an exclusive right given to the owner of a work that protects “original creative works, including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, songs, films, software, and architecture.”
Ideas and Facts are Not Protected By Copyright
(Credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/82TpEld0_e4)
But it does not protect “facts, ideas, systems or methods of operation.”
Know More About Copyright
Copyrights are more comfortable to obtain than other IP rights. Hence, it is easy to protect original work legally.
They have the characteristic copyright symbol © attached to them. The idea is that the creator or owner of the work has sole rights to the work and thus have complete authority on how the work is reproduced or distributed.
As a business owner or an author, knowing about copyright and copyright infringement is essential. But for that, it is essential to know what copyright covers and what it doesn’t. Under different circumstances, it is possible to publish works without actually violating anything.
However, sometimes one might land in legal trouble without even a knowledge that one has violated a copyright or stolen any idea.
Understanding copyright infringement
The act of Copyright infringement, commonly referred to as piracy is the use or production of copyright-protected work without crediting the copyright holder. Copyright infringement means that the rights given to the copyright holder, who has exclusive legal ownership of the creative expressions for a set period, are being violated by a third party. Usually, individuals who apply for copyright do so for extracting monetary benefits. A third party is sometimes granted legal permission to reproduce some part of the work by licensing arrangements. However, sometimes users reproduce the copyrighted work without prior permission. That’s when it is a legal offense.
However, the extent of copyright protection varies from country to country, with different amounts of protection and options for seeking legal action.
However, sometimes copyrights come with the provision of “fair use” under which it is legally permitted to distribute and reproduce copyrighted material without the owner’s expressed consent. However, it is always advisable to be sure of one’s rights and limitations before using any work to avoid legal action being taken against them.
The modern scenario
With the advent of the internet and millions of works available online in public domains, it is relatively easy to reproduce and distribute a part of any work, and it is relatively difficult to seek legal recourse. With the varying protection offered to copyrighted work in the international and domestic front, companies especially find it difficult to understand the extent to which a work can be reproduced. Thus many instances of unintentional copyright infringements have been seen. Again a breach of copyright rules is especially tricky for copyright holders as the legal processes can be very cumbersome.
How to avoid copyright infringement?
Copyright law protects original works and the rights of the copyright holder. And with the internet boasting of millions of workers, it is easy to use someone else’s work wrongfully.
Use other’s work with caution.
If someone wants to recreate a work or at least a part of it and avoid copyright infringement, great caution should be exercised regarding the production. Anything on the internet that does not belong to a person can be someone else’s copyrighted work. One should always look for the license and permissions before using it.
Many companies use online tools for checking if any work is being used without permission. Sometimes artists use software to detect instance song copyright infringement. Hence, one has to be careful while using any creative work.
Also, do not believe in myths like big companies don’t care, or a small video or audio is not subject to copyright protection. Virtually everything can be protected by copyright, and wrongful usage of the same can result in legal actions.
Read the terms of use carefully.
Usually, operators do not wish to share their work without some benefit or gain. And all such arrangements are written in the form of a license. Hence it is necessary to read the license arrangements before using any work. Also, if some form of use of the work is permissible, one should carefully look up how much of the work can be used.
Look for fair use
Not all copyrights exclusively deny all access to the mentioned work. Sometimes, a part of it can be recreated for educational purposes.
A particular type of copyright, the creative commons, allow “free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work.” It is done to ensure that people can freely use the work for future reference without having to worry about any copyright infringement while abiding by the rules stated in the license. Several types of Creative Commons licenses differ by conditions imposed on the terms of distribution.
Ask for permission
Often clear cut policies are not mentioned on the license. Under such circumstances, it is always better to ask for permission from the owner. It mitigates legal disputes and lawsuits. When content creators see their original creations being plagiarized or reproduced without their permission, they often file for lawsuits.
If the copyright creator is a well established content producer, formal interactions with lawyers or representatives are necessary. But if they are relatively less established, a formal E-mail can do the work.
Citing sources
If one forgets to ask for permission, citing sources is always an alternative though not without legal risk. However, it is an acknowledgment to the content creator and hence somewhat mitigates the risk of legal actions. But it is always better to consult a lawyer if any chance of a legal dispute arises.