Copyright for Authors

Jenny Delasalle,Academic Support Manager

(Research), Library

Wikipedia blackout, 18 Jan 2012

• Who knew it had happened?• Who thinks they know roughly what it is about?!• Who is sure that they know exactly why Wikipedia was

blacked out?• Protesting US Congress bills: SOPA/PIPA • Passing copyright policing responsibility onto likes of

wikipedia, youtube, flickr, etc, assuming users to be guilty until proven innocent!

• UK Hargreaves review published May 2011: mixed bag!

We’re going to look at:

1. What is copyright?2. Can I use others’ work?3. Transferring copyright4. What would you vote for?

1. So you’ve got a great idea…

• Valuable to you• … and you want to get something from it!– money– reputation

• Share it, but also protect it.• Find the right intellectual property right to

apply to your situation.

1. Copyright is…1. About the right for commercial exploitation of a work– …not of an idea.

• A part of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)– Patents– Trade marks– Design rights– Database rights

• See also:– Moral rights– Performance rights– Confidential information (Data Protection & FoI)

• NOT Plagiarism!

1. Copyright protection applies to a work… what does that mean?

• Originality• For written, dramatic, musical or artistic works

(print, audio & various media).• Presentation of others’ copyright work

(translations, page layouts & arrangements).• Don’t necessarily need an isbn!• Creator can assign/sell their copyright to

others.• NB Difference in copyright laws around the

world.

1. How to claim copyright

• Put the copyright symbol on your works. – © 2012 by Jenny Delasalle. All rights reserved

• People can’t claim they did not know copyright applied.

• It may discourage infringement.• It makes it easier for people to obtain

permission from the rights owner (you!).• Also popular in the US: Copyright licensing

agencies: register your copyright for a fee.

1. Creative Commons licences• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ • 3 layers: legal code, human readable, machine

readable.• Google and Flickr allow you to search for CC

content. (see: http://search.creativecommons.org/ )

• 6 different options, eg with attribution, if not for profit, if their new creations are licensed under same terms…

1. Plagiarism or copyright?• Plagiarism is bad practice: it is not illegal.• An instance of plagiarism can also be

copyright infringement.• Copyright infringement may lead to…– settlement outside of court: eg, remove offending

content, pay compensation, etc. – Some prison terms!

• Copyright protectiveness can help prevent plagiarism.

Can’t copy

RISK Not a work Exceptions & exemptions

Fair Use in US

Any purpose

Fair Dealing in UK

For particular purposes

Licences Time out! Permission granted

2. Can I use this? No!

2. Duration– Literary works, dramatic works, artistic works:

Creator’s life plus 70 years after death. – Anonymous works: 70 years from publication– Sound recordings: 50 years from first publication– Films: 70 years from first broadcast– Published editions: 25 years from year of

publication – to encourage new editions– Crown copyright: 125 years– Parliamentary copyright: 50 years

2. If the author died more than 70 years ago you can copy it, right? Not always!• Works published posthumously would still be in copyright.• The original work might be out of copyright but an adaptation

would not be (including translations).• 70 years is the UK term: so only applies if you’re in the UK.• Material around the work is still in copyright (commentaries,

etc).• Material within the work could be copyright to third parties. • It isn’t in copyright but is protected by another IP right – e.g. a

trade mark or a database right.• It’s in a physical place you can’t access to like an art gallery

with a no photography policy.

3. Transferring copyright• How it can be transferred:

– Employment contracts claim copyright in employees output.– Student enrollment?– Bequests in wills.– Assigned by written agreement.

• Types of transfer: – Exclusive licence – must be in writing and signed by/on behalf of the

copyright owner, i.e., academics and journal publishers– Sole licence– Non-exclusive licence– Implied licence

• Creative Commons licences

4. Would you vote for a ban on copyright transfer to publishers?

• Princeton University has banned researchers from giving the copyright of scholarly articles to journal publishers, except in certain cases where a waiver may be granted.

• The new rule is part of an Open Access policy• Faculty unanimously voted to adopt the policy

Useful links• University of Warwick Legal Compliance pages:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/gov/legalservices/resources (info about licences, exceptions, etc)

• SHERPA RoMEO: http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/• JISC/TLTP copyright guidelines: • http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/elib/papers/other/jisc-tltp/ji

sc.pdf• Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/