Copyright
Copyright Rights
- Copyright is actually a collection of rights.
- The copyright owner has the exclusive right to take his/her work and:
- Copy it
- Distribute it
- Publicly display, publicly perform
- Make derivative works based upon the the original work (spin offs, adaptions).
When Does Copyright Start?
- Berne Treaty in Switzerland
- Copyright protection "subsists in an original work of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression."
What is Copyrightable?
- Copyright protection "subsists in an original work of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression."
- Original: created independently and not copied (no need to be novel or unique).
- Examples:
- Literary works: screen plays, novels, articles, poems
- Audiovisual works: films, TV shows, plays
- Music
- Choreography, art, posters
- Letters, speeches, architecture.
- Caveat: works made by the government are not copyrightable.
What is Not Copyrightable?
- Names
- Titles
- Short phrases
- Facts
- Ideas
Caveat: Copyrightable Characters
- Most courts have ruled that fictional characters that are well formed (more visually developed than words) can be copyrighted.
Chinese Copyright Registration
- Copyright Protection Center of China (CPCC)
How Long Does Copyright Last?
- Berne Treaty: life + 50 years
- Currently: (works created after 1978) - life of author + 70 years
- 95 years after publication, or 120 years after creation, whichever is shorter.