COPYRIGHTS
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What is a copyright? http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html#wci This is not the copyright law in its entirety, it has been condensed to give a quick reference. Please refer to the website above for the complete copyright laws and explanations. WHAT IS A COPYRIGHT? Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following: -to reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords -to prepare derivitave works based upon the work -to distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease or lending. -to display the copyrighted work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, or dramatic and choreographic work, pantomimes and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work... In addition, certain authors of works of visual art have the rights of attribution and integrity as described in section 106A of the 1976 Copyright Act. It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the copyright law to the owner of copyright. WHO CAN CLAIM COPYRIGHT? Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright. The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright in the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary. Mere ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, or any other copy or phonorecord does not give the possessor the copyright. The law provides that transfer of ownership of any material object that embodies a protected work does not of itself convey any rights in the copyright. HOW TO SECURE A COPYRIGHT Copyright is secured automatically upon creation. The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright.
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