Frères Mentouri University Research & Copyright

Faculty of Letters & Languages Unit 3: Copyright

Department of Letters & English Language M2
 
Copyright Basics
Historically there has always been a very close relationship between technology and law. This is
particularly true in the IP and Copyright law areas. The emergence and major expansions of
copyright laws have often been directly driven by advances in technology. The scope and
enforceability of copyright protection has substantial consequences for the nation’s culture,
research enterprise, economy, trade balance, and international influence.
The growth of publishing industries and their increasing concerns with the protection of
literary works eventually led to the enactment of the Statute of Anne in Britain in 1710 – one of
the earliest and most influential modern statutory copyright acts. Thereafter, a series of
significant inventions occurred between the end of the nineteenth century and the 1970s, such
as photocopiers, film, radio, television, videocassette recorders, cable television and satellites.
These inventions led to revolutionary progress in reproduction and communications technology.
In responses to concerns voiced by the new copyright-related industries, international copyright
laws were continuously expanded in terms of both the scope of subject matter and operation of
law.
1. What is Copyright?
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of any country 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 This protection is available to both published and unpublished works.
Copyright Act in the US, for example, 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 derivative 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 perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and
choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
• To display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and
choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including
the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and
• In the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio
transmission.
As specified in the law, “copyright” in relation to a particular work means the sole right to
produce or reproduce the work or any substantial part of it, to perform the work or any
substantial part of it in public, and if the work is unpublished, to publish the work or any
substantial part of it. Copyright extends to other activities such as adaptation, translation, and
telecommunication to the public of a work.
In general, if a work meets the definition of a copyright-protected work, copying the work or
any substantial portion of it, or engaging in any of the other protected activities, will require
permission of the copyright owner unless one of the exceptions in the law applies. It is illegal for
anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the copyright law to the owner of copyright.
These rights, however, are limited in scope. Copyright law establishes limitations on these
rights. In some cases, these limitations are specified discharge from copyright liability. One
major limitation is the doctrine of “fair use,” which is given a statutory basis. In other instances,

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Frères Mentouri University Research & Copyright
Faculty of Letters & Languages Unit 3: Copyright
Department of Letters & English Language M2
 
the limitation takes the form of a “compulsory license” under which certain limited uses of
copyrighted works are permitted upon payment of specified fees and compliance with statutory
conditions.
2. 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.
In the case of works made for hire, the employer and not the employee is considered to be
the author. Copyright law defines a “work made for hire” as:
1- a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or
2- a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as:
• a contribution to a collective work
• a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
• a translation
• a supplementary work
• a compilation
• an instructional text
• a test
• answer material for a test
• an atlas
If the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be
considered a work made for hire.
The authors of a joint work or a collective work are co-owners of the copyright in the work,
as an encyclopedia or an anthology, unless there is an agreement to the contrary. Copyright in
each separate contribution to a periodical or other collective work is distinct from copyright in
the collective work as a whole and vests initially with the author of the contribution.
3. What Works are Protected?
Copyright protects “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression.
The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a
machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following categories:
1. Literary works
2. Musical works, including any accompanying words
3. Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
4. Pantomimes and choreographic works
5. Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
6. Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
7. Sound recordings
8. Architectural works
These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer programmes and most
“compilations” may be registered as “literary works”; maps and architectural plans may be
registered as “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.”
4. What is not Protected by Copyright?
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These
include among others:

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Frères Mentouri University Research & Copyright
Faculty of Letters & Languages Unit 3: Copyright
Department of Letters & English Language M2
 
• Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic
works that have not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that
have not been written or recorded)
• Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of
typographic ornamentation, lettering, or colouring; mere listings of ingredients or contents
• Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as
distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration
• Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original
authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and
rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources)
5. How to Secure a Copyright?
Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is “created” when it is
fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. “Copies” are material objects from which a work
can be read or visually perceived either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as
books, manuscripts, sheet music, film, videotape, or microfilm.
“Phonorecords” are material objects embodying fixations of sounds (excluding, by statutory
definition, motion picture soundtracks), such as cassette tapes, CDs, or vinyl disks. Thus, for
example, a song (the “work”) can be fixed in sheet music (“copies”) or in phonograph disks
(“phonorecords”), or both.
Upon expiration of the term of a copyright or patent, the intellectual property is said to
pass into the public domain. The once exclusive rights of the owners of that intellectual
property become available for exercise by anyone who wants them, freely and without charge.
Once intellectual property enters the public domain, its owner can no longer restrict its
exploitation and use in any way. Through the passage of time, the intellectual works of
Shakespeare, Mozart, and Newton have long since passed into the public domain. That
intellectual property is completely free for anyone to use.
• Publication
Publication is important to copyright owners. The Copyright Act defines publication as follows:
“Publication” is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other
transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or
phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or
public display constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself
constitute publication.
This definition clearly indicates that:
- The distribution is to persons under no explicit or implicit restrictions with respect to
disclosure of the contents.
- The sale of phonorecords constitutes publication of the underlying work, for example, the
musical, dramatic, or literary work embodied in a phonorecord.
- Any form of dissemination in which the material object does not change hands, for example,
performances or displays on television, is not a publication no matter how many people are
exposed to the work.
- When copies or phonorecords are offered for sale or lease to a group of wholesalers,
broadcasters, or motion picture theatres, publication does take place if the purpose is further
distribution, public performance, or public display.

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Frères Mentouri University Research & Copyright
Faculty of Letters & Languages Unit 3: Copyright
Department of Letters & English Language M2
 
• Notice of Copyright
The use of the notice may be important because it informs the public that the work is protected
by copyright, identifies the copyright owner, and shows the year of first publication. The use of
the copyright notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner.
The notice for visually perceptible copies should contain all the following three elements:
1. The symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word “Copyright,” or the abbreviation “Copr.”; and
2. The year of first publication of the work. In the case of compilations or derivative works
incorporating previously published material, the year date of first publication of the compilation
or derivative work is sufficient. The year date may be omitted where a pictorial, graphic, or
sculptural work, with accompanying textual matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting
cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or any useful article; and
3. The name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be
recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.
Example: © 2008 John Doe
The “C in a circle” notice is used only on “visually perceptible copies.” Certain kinds of works—
for example, musical, dramatic, and literary works—may be fixed not in “copies” but by means
of sound in an audio recording. Since audio recordings such as audio tapes and phonograph
disks are “phonorecords” and not “copies,” the “C in a circle” notice is not used to indicate
protection of the underlying musical, dramatic, or literary work that is recorded.
• Form of Notice for Phonorecords of Sound Recordings
The notice for phonorecords embodying a sound recording should contain all the following three
elements:
1. The symbol π (the letter P in a circle); and
2. The year of first publication of the sound recording; and
3. The name of the owner of copyright in the sound recording, or an abbreviation by which the
name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner. If the
producer of the sound recording is named on the phonorecord label or container and if no other
name appears in conjunction with the notice, the producer’s name shall be considered a part of
the notice.
Example: π 2008 A.B.C. Records Inc.
• International Copyright Protection
There is no such thing as an “international copyright” that will automatically protect an
author’s writings throughout the entire world. Protection against unauthorized use in a
particular country depends, basically, on the national laws of that country. However, most
countries do offer protection to foreign works under certain conditions, and these conditions
have been greatly simplified by international copyright treaties and conventions.
• Copyright Registration
In general, copyright registration is a legal formality intended to make a public record of the
basic facts of a particular copyright. However, registration is not a condition of copyright
protection. Even though registration is not a requirement for protection, the copyright law
provides several inducements or advantages to encourage copyright owners to make
registration. Among these advantages are the following:

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Frères Mentouri University Research & Copyright
Faculty of Letters & Languages Unit 3: Copyright
Department of Letters & English Language M2
 
• Registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim.
• Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works.
• If made before or within five years of publication, registration will establish prima facie
evidence in court of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.
• If registration is made within three months after publication of the work or prior to an
infringement of the work, statutory damages and attorney’s fees will be available to the
copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an award of actual damages and profits is
available to the copyright owner.

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