Interesting Copyright Facts And so can you The

Interesting Copyright Facts! (And so can you!)

The Famous (Infamous? ) Everyone knows the copyright symbol. You have seen it everywhere, on practically everything. But what does it really mean? ©

The Big Reveal! The Copyright symbol means that the product that you are looking at has copyrighted by it's creator. It has legal protection under the law to prevent others from taking the work from it's rightful owner.

You don't say! Did you know that if you create something, even without a copyright notice, that it is automatically copyrighted to you? Many years ago this was not the case, however that changed when. . (Coolest thing she's ever heard)

Thats Awesome! When the Berne Copyright was created on April 1, 1989, All of your works became protected by law unless you explicitly say otherwise!

Surely you jest! There are some instances where you CAN use someone else's works within your own LEGALLY! My personal favorite is called the parody. In a parody the creator is poking fun at another work and generally making fun of it. This is something that the law usually turns a blind eye to. (GREAT example of parody)

Kept on trucking. This program is currently in it's 5 th season with no lawsuits to bring it down yet. If something exists this show has made fun of it. (Pictured: Perfectly legal)

Watch out! Mind you, a parody HAS to make fun of something. It cannot simply be a derivative work with parody slapped on it's cover. A good example is when a man named Jimmie Winkelmann created a parody of the “North Face” clothing line, calling his “The South Butt”.

Too close for comfort Normally this would not have been a problem. Winklemann's own version of the clothing was sufficiently similar enough to the original work for a legal dispute to break out. (The North Face jacket) (And the totally original South Butt jacket)

A work of love Another great example of copyright holders not suing individuals for untold millions, usually comes in the form of fan made content.

Bad publicity doesn't exist Fan made works like fan art, comics, stories, videogames etc. are often silently promoted because they increase brand loyalty and act as free advertisement.

Total Envy Japan takes fan content a step further. Japanese fans are allowed to sell their fan-made goods for profit twice a year at the countries famous Comiket convention. (Fan made Japanese comics)

Oh the horror! As neat as these allowances are, the world of copyrights can be down right terrifying at times! In a ridiculous judgement, a woman named Jammie Rasset was ordered to pay $1. 5 million for downloading a mere 24 SONGS!!

You're not joking huh? In another instance, the RIAA went after a 12 year old child for downloading music off of the file share service KAZAA. (Typical RIAA member)

Ain't that the truth. . . Personally, I believe that the amounts that the RIAA is suing for are criminal and do not fit the crime. Nevertheless, if the defendants would have obtained the music legally they would never have found themselves in court. That's just how it is in the end.

Do tell! Now, despite all of this, there are plenty of places to obtain TONS of free entertainment that has fallen into the public domain. Public domain simply means that these items have had their copyrights run out, or they were placed there by their creators, and are absolutely free to obtain.

Free stuff is best stuff. A few terrific examples of places where you can get countless hours of free entertainment are. . . http: //publicdomainmovies. info/ http: //www. gutenberg. org/wiki/Main_Page http: //www. audiobooksforfree. com

Not sure if ok. . If you honestly cannot tell if something is public domain, then it is best to play it safe and simply leave it alone! You could face severe fines, penalties or worse. .

Oh God no. . . You could end up like this. . . (Pictured: Man's greatest fear)

Credits/Sources http: //www. fanpop. com http: //www. vegastrademarkattorney. com/2009/12/two-trademark-parody-cases-for-your. html http: //www. torontosun. com/tech/news/2010/11/04/15967161. html http: //www. foxnews. com/story/0, 2933, 96797, 00. html http: //www. comiket. co. jp/index_e. html http: //pittsburghtrademarklawyer. wordpress. com/2009/12/14/north-face-v-south-butt/ http: //www. audiobooksforfree. com http: //publicdomainmovies. info/ http: //www. gutenberg. org