Copyright
A copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted by government for
a limited time to regulate the use of a particular form, way or manner
in which an idea or information is expressed. Copyright may subsist in
a wide range of creative or artistics forms or "works". These include
literary works, movies, musical works, sound recordings, paintings,
photographs, software, and industrial designs. Copyright is a type of
intellectual property.
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Obtaining and enforcing copyright
Typically, a work must meet minimal standards of originality in
order to qualify for a copyright, and the copyright expires after a set
period of time if not extended. Different countries impose different
tests, although generally the requirements are low; in the United
Kingdom there has to be some 'skill, originality and work' which has
gone into it. However, even fairly trivial amounts of these qualities
are sufficient for determining whether a particular act of copying
constitutes an infringement of the author's original expression.
The
phrase "exclusive right" means that only the copyright holder is free
to exercise the attendant rights, and others are prohibited from doing
them without the consent of the copyright holder. Copyright is often
called a "negative right", as it serves to prohibit people (eg.
readers, viewers, or listeners) from doing something, rather than
permit people (e.g. authors) to do something. In this way it is similar
to the unregistered design right in English law and European law.
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Copyright Transfer and licensing
Copyright may be assigned or transferred from one party to
another. For example, a musician who records an album will sign an
agreement with a record company in which the musician agrees to
transfer all copyrights in the recordings to the company in exchange
for royalties and other terms. One might ask why a copyright holder
would ever give up his rights.
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All rights reserved""
The phrase, All rights reserved, was a formal notice that all rights
granted under existing copyright law are retained by the copyright
holder and that legal action may be taken against copyright
infrgement.
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Copyright Infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized use of copyrighted
material in a manner that violates one of the copyright owner's
exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it.
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