Chip Hitware 3/Chip_Hitware_Vol_03.iso/chiphit3/win95/programm/cyb_leg/forms.exe/COPY1.LGF

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Circular 1:  Copyright Basics

     On  January 1, 1978, the Copyright Act of 1976 (title 17  of
the United States Code) came into effect.  This general revision
of the copyright law of the United States, the first such
revision since 1909, made important changes in our copyright
system and superseded the previous Federal copyright statute.

WHAT COPYRIGHT IS

     Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of
the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) 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protection is available to both published and unpublished works.
Section 106 of the Copyright Act generally gives the owner of
copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do
the following:

-    To reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;

-    To prepare derivative work based upon the copyrighted work;

-    To distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work
     to the public by sales or other transfer of ownership, or by
     rental, lease, or lending;

-    To perform the copyrighted work publicly, in the case of
     literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works,
     pantomimes, and motion picture and other audiovisual works
     and

-    To display the copyrighted 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.

     It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights
provided to the owner of copyright by the Act.  These rights,
however, are not unlimited in scope.  Sections 107 through 118 of
the Copyright Act establish limitations on these rights.  In some
cases, these limitations are specified exemptions from copyright
liability.  One major limitation is the doctrine of "fair use,"
which is given a statutory basis by section 107 of the Act.  In
other instances, the limitation takes the form of a "compulsory
license" under which certain limited uses of copyrighted works
are permitted upon payment of specified royalties and compliance
with statutory conditions.  For further information about
limitations of any of these rights, consult the Copyright Act or
write to the Copyright Office.

WHO CAN CLAIM COPYRIGHT

     Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is
created in fixed form; that is, it is an incident of the process
of authorship.  The copyright in the work of authorship
immediately becomes the property of the author who created it.
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 presumptively considered the author.  Section 101 of
the copyright statute 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, as a part of a motion
     picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as a
     supplementary work, as a compilation, as an instructional
     text, as a test, as answer material for a test, or as 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 are co-owners of the copyright
in the work, 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.

Two General Principles

Mere ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, or any other
copy or phonorecord does not give the possessor the copyright.
The law provides that transfer of ownership of any
material object that embodies a protected work does not
of itself convey any rights in the copyright.

-    Minors may claim copyright, but state laws may regulate the
     business dealings involving copyrights owned by minors.
     For information on relevant state laws, consult an attorney.

COPYRIGHT AND NATIONAL ORIGIN OF THE WORK

     Copyright protection is available for all unpublished works,
regardless of the nationality or domicile of the author.

     Published works are eligible for copyright protection in the
United States if any one of the following conditions is met:

-    On the date of the first publication, one or more of the
     authors is a national or domiciliary of the United States
     or is a national, domiciliary, or sovereign authority of
     a foreign nation that is a party to a copyright treaty to
     which the United States is also a party, or is a stateless
     person wherever that person may be domiciled; or

-    The work is first published in the United States or in a
     foreign nation that, on the date of first publication, is
     a party to the Universal Copyright Convention; or the work
     comes within the scope of a Presidential proclamation.


THE MANUFACTURING CLAUSE

     The manufacturing clause in the copyright law, section 601
of the 1976 Copyright Act (title 17, U.S. Code), expired July 1,
1986.

WHAT WORKS ARE PROTECTED

     Copyright protection exists for "original works of
authorship" when they become fixed in a tangible form of
expression.  The fixation does not need to 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; and

7.   sound recordings.

This list is illustrative and is not meant to exhaust the
categories of copyrightable works.  These categories should be
viewed quite broadly:  for example, computer programs and most
"compilations" are registrable as "literary works"; maps and
architectural blueprints are registrable as "pictorial, graphic,
and sculptural works."

WHAT IS NOT PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

     Several categories of material are generally not eligible
for statutory copyright protection.  These include among others:

-    Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of
expression.  For example, choreographic works which 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 coloring; 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
rules, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other
common sources.

HOW TO SECURE A COPYRIGHT

Copyright Secured Automatically Upon Creation

     The way in which copyright protection is secured under the
present law is frequently misunderstood.  No publication or
registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required
to secure copyright (see NOTE below).  There are, however,
certain definite advantages to registration (see below).

     Under the present law, 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.  In general,
"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 audio tapes and
phonograph disks.  Thus, for example, a song (the "work") can be
fixed in sheet music ("copies") or in phonograph disks
("phonorecords"), or both.

     If a work is prepared over a period of time, the part of the
work existing in fixed form on a particular date constitutes the
created work as of that date.

PUBLICATION

     Publication is no longer the key to obtaining statutory
copyright as it was under the Copyright Act of 1909.  However,
publication remains 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 sales 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.
NOTE:  Before 1978, statutory copyright was generally secured by
the act of publication with notice of copyright, assuming
compliance with all other relevant statutory conditions.  Works
in the public domain on January 1, 1978 (for example, works
published without satisfying all conditions for securing
statutory copyright under the Copyright Act of 1909) remain in
the public domain on the current Act.

     Statutory copyright could also be secured before 1978 by the
act of registration in the case of certain unpublished works and
work eligible for ad interim copyright.  The current Act
automatically extends to full term (section 304 sets the term)
copyright for all works in which ad interim copyright was
subsisting or was capable of being secured on December 31, 1977.

     A further discussion of the definition of "publication" can
be found in the legislative history of the Act.  The legislative
reports define "to the public" as distribution to persons under
no explicit or implicit restrictions with respect to disclosure
of the contents.  The reports state that the definition makes it
clear that the sale of phonorecords constitutes publication of
the underlying work, for example, the musical, dramatic, or
literary work embodied in a phonorecord.  The reports also state
that it is clear that 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.  However, when copies or
phonorecords are offered for sale or lease to a group of
wholesalers, broadcasters, or motion picture theaters,
publication does take place if the purpose is further
distribution, public performance, or public display.

     Publication is an important concept in the copyright law
because upon publication, several significant consequences
follow.  Among these are:

-    When a work is published, all published copies should bear a
notice of copyright.  (See discussion below of "notice of
copyright.")

-    Works that are published with notice of copyright in the
United States are subject to mandatory deposit with the Library
of Congress.  (See discussion on page 10 below on "mandatory
deposit.")

-    Publication of a work can affect the limitations on the
exclusive rights of the copyright owner that are set forth in
sections 107 through 118 of the law.

-    The year of publication is used in determining the duration
of copyright protection for anonymous and pseudonymous works
(when the author's identity is not revealed in the records of the
Copyright Office) and for works made for hire.

     Deposit requirements for registration of published works
differ from those for registration of unpublished works.  (See
discussion on page 9 below of "copyright registration" process.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT

     When a work is published under the authority of the
copyright owner, a notice of copyright should be placed on all
publicly distributed copies and on all publicly distributed
phonorecords of sound recordings.  This notice is required even
on works published outside the United States.  Failure to comply
with the notice requirement can result in the loss of certain
additional rights otherwise available to the copyright owner.


     The use of the copyright notice is the responsibility of the
copyright owner and does not require advance permission from, or
registration with, the Copyright Office.  As mentioned above, use
of the notice makes the published works subject to mandatory
deposit requirements. (See discussion on page 10 on "mandatory
deposit.")

Form of Notice for Visually Perceptible Copies

     The notice for visually perceptible copies should contain
all of the following three elements:

1.   The symbol 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:  Copyright 1987 John Doe

     The "C in a circle" notice is required 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 phonographs disks are
"phonorecords" and not "copies," there is no requirement that the
phonorecord bear a "C in a circle" notice to protect the
underlying musical, dramatic or literary work that is recorded.

Form of Notice for Phonorecords of Sound Recordings

     The copyright notice for phonorecords of sounds recordings
has somewhat different requirements.  The notice appearing on
phonorecords should contain the following three elements:

-    The letter P in a circle; and

-    The year of the first publication of the sound recording;
and

-    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
labels or containers, and if no other name appears in conjunction
with the notice, the producer's name shall be considered as part
of the notice.

Example:  P in a circle 1987 A.B.C., Inc.

NOTE:  Because of problems that might result in some cases from
the use of variant forms of the notice, any form of the notice
other than these given here should not be used without first
seeking legal advice.

Position of Notice

     The notice should be affixed to copies or phonorecords of
the work in such a manner and location as to "give reasonable
notice of the claim of copyright."  The notice on phonorecords
may appear on the surface of the phonorecord or on the
phonorecord label or container, provided the manner of placement
and location gives reasonable notice of the claim.  The three
elements of the notice should ordinarily appear together on the
copies or phonorecords.  The Copyright Office has issued
regulations concerning the form and position of the copyright
notice in the Code of Federal Regulations (37 C.F.R. Part 201).
For more information, request Circular 3.

Publications Incorporating United States Government Works

     Works by the United States Government are not subject to
copyright protection.  Whenever a work is published in copies or
phonorecords consisting preponderantly of one or more works of
the United States Government, the notice of copyright shall also
include a statement that identifies one of the following:  those
portions protected by the copyright law or those portions that
constitute United States Government material.
[Note 1]

Unpublished Works

     The copyright notice is not required on unpublished works.
To avoid inadvertent publication without notice, however, it may
be advisable for the author or other owner of the copyright to
affix notices, or a statement such as Unpublished Works Copr.1987
John Doe, to any copies or phonorecords which leave his or her
control.

Effect of Omission of the Notice or of Error in the Name or Date

     Unlike the law in effect before 1978, the new Copyright Act,
in sections 405 and 406, provides procedures for correcting
errors and omissions of the copyright notice on works published
on or after January 1, 1978.

     In general, the omission or error does not automatically
invalidate the copyright in a work if registration for the work
has been made before or is made within 5 years after the
publication without notice, and a reasonable effort is made to
add the notice to all copies or phonorecords that are distributed
to the public in the United States after the omission has been
discovered.

HOW LONG COPYRIGHT PROTECTION ENDURES

Works Originally Copyrighted on or After January 1, 1978

     A work that is created (fixed in tangible form for the first
time) on or after January 1, 1978, is automatically protected
from the moment of its creation, and is ordinarily given a term
enduring for the author's life, plus an additional 50 years after
the author's death.  In the case of "a joint work prepared by two
or more authors who did not work for hire," the term lasts for 50
years after the last surviving author's death.  For works made
for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the
author's identity is revealed in Copyright Office records), the
duration of copyright will be 75 years from publication or 100
years from creation, whichever is shorter.

     Works that were created before the present law came into
effect, but had neither been published nor registered for
copyright before January 1, 1978, have been automatically brought
under the statute and are now given Federal copyright protection.
The duration of copyright in these works will generally be
computed in the same way as for works created on or after January
1, 1978:  the life-plus-50 or 75/100-year terms will apply to
them as well.  However, all works in this category are guaranteed
at least 25 years of statutory protection.

Works Copyrighted Before January 1. 1978

     Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was secured
either on the date a work was published, or on the date of
registration if the work was registered in unpublished form.  In
either case, the copyright endured for a first term of 28 years
from the date it was secured.  During the last (28th) year of the
first term, the copyright was eligible for renewal.  The new
copyright law has extended the renewal term from 28 to 47 years
for copyrights that were subsisting on January 1, 1978, making
these works eligible for a total term of protection of 75 years.
However, the copyright must be timely renewed to receive the 47-
year period of added protection.  For more detailed information
on the copyright term, write to the Copyright Office and request
Circulars 15a and 15t.  For information on how to search the
Copyright Office records concerning the copyright status of a
work, ask for Circular 22.

TRANSFER OF COPYRIGHT

     Any or all of the exclusive rights, or any subdivision of
those rights, of the copyright owner may be transferred, but the
transfer of exclusive rights is not valid unless that transfer is
in writing and signed by the owner of the rights conveyed (or
such owner's duly authorized agent).  Transfer of a right on a
nonexclusive basis does not require a written agreement.


     A copyright may also be conveyed by operation of law and may
be bequeathed by will or pass as personal property by the
applicable laws of interstate succession.

     Copyright is a personal property right, and it is subject to
the various state laws and regulations that govern the ownership,
inheritance, or transfer of personal property as well as terms of
contracts or conduct of business.  For information about relevant
state laws, consult an attorney.

     Transfer of copyright are normally made by contract.  The
Copyright Office does not have or supply any forms for such
transfers.  However, the law does provide for the recordation in
the Copyright Office of transfer of copyright ownership.
Although recordation is not required to make a valid transfer as
between the parties, it does provide certain legal advantages and
may be required to validate the transfer as against third
parties.  For information on recordation of transfers and other
documents related to copyright, write to the Copyright Office for
Circular 12.

TERMINATION OF TRANSFERS

     Under the previous law, the copyright in a work generally
reverted to the author, if living, or if the author was not
living, to other specified beneficiaries, provided a renewal
claim was registered in the 28th year of the original term.  The
present law drops the renewal feature except for the works al-
ready in the first term of statutory protection when the present
law took effect.  Instead, the present law generally permits
termination of a grant of rights after 35 years under certain
conditions by serving written notice  on the transferee within
specified time limits.

     For works already under statutory copyright protection, the
present law provides a similar right to termination covering the
newly added years that extended the former maximum term of the
copyright from 56 to 75 years.  For further information, write to
the Copyright Office for Circulars 15a and 15t.