Copyright - What is it?
Copyright is the intellectual property right given to the creator/originator of: (a)original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works; (b)sound recordings; (f)films; (g)broadcasts; (h)databases; and (i) cable programmes. The creator/author/originator is often under an obligation to assign the copyrights to an employer, so that the employer actually becomes the owner of the rights.
In almost all countries/jurisdictions in the world, it is an automatic
right which is created upon fixation of the work. There is no requirement for formal registration and hence no notification about it is necessary. Copyright is also often said to protect the expression of the work and not the idea contained in it. Copyrights protect the look, the feel, the text of a creative work.
When granted, copyright gives the owner a host of exclusive rights, which may include the following:
- to copy or reproduce the work;
- to issue and distribute copies to the public;
- to make an adaptation of the work, such as translating it;
- to rent or lend the work to the public; and
- to perform, show or play the work in public.
In addition, the author of copyright works is accorded moral rights -the right to claim authorship; to object to any derogatory treatment, distortion, mutilation or modification of his work; and the right to object to false attribution. These rights are retained by the author even after transfer or assignment of copyright in the works, and last for at least the duration of the copyright.
Under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the duration of copyright protection may vary between jurisdictions. As a guide, Article 7(1) of the Convention provides that the term of protection shall be the “life of the author and 50 years after his death”.
What steps is your organisation taking to ensure its copyright works are used more widely?
