How can the rights of artists and writers be protected on the Internet?

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of

authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry,

novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect

facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these

things are expressed. Copyright refers to the legal rights given to the originator of the

created material. For example an artist has this right over his painting, to print, publish,

reproduce, film etc this material over a period of years, though they may give this right

to others at their discretion or by allowing others to reuse it when other people ask for

the owners permission. Copyright is important as it helps to protect the value of an

author/academic/researchers work, by giving the originator of the work the ability to

protect it from unlicensed or uncredited usage. This leads to the prevention of their work

being copied to the degree where they cannot sell it effectively or receive credit for it. In

this way, copyright fosters intellectual creativity as it provides an incentive for a

creator to work freely, allowing them to gain recognition for their work as well

as protecting their livelihood.

Copyright does not protect ideas, concepts, systems, or methods of doing something.

You may express your ideas in writing or drawings and claim copyright in your

description, but be aware that copyright will not protect the idea itself as revealed in

your written or artistic work.Copyright protection plays an important role in encouraging

enterprise and stimulating economic activity. It provides a vital incentive for the creation

of many intellectual works. Without copyright protection, it would be easy for others to
exploit these works without paying any royalties or remuneration to the owner of the

work.

Copyright not only provides protection to the creator's original work but also to the

reproduction by various means of all or parts of that work or works. This protection is in

the form of two rights known as the Economic Right and the Moral Right. Copyright

protection entitles the creators to control use of their literary and artistic material in a

number of ways such as making copies, performing in public, broadcasting, use on-

line, etc. and to obtain an appropriate economic reward. Creators can therefore be

rewarded for their creativity and investment. Copyright gives the creator the right to

prevent others from exploiting the work in various ways, without permission, e.g.

copying the work; making the work available to the public; distributing the work; renting

or lending it (excluding public lending); and translating, arranging or adapting the work.

These economic rights enable the creator to charge a fee, or royalty for the reproduction

of the work. An example of the power of economic rights is where an author of a book

can also benefit from movie adaptations of their books as well as sales of merchandise

associated with the book or movie.Copyright also gives moral rights to be identified as

the creator or author of certain kinds of material (sometimes known as the paternity

right), and to object to the distortion and mutilation of it. An author's right to object to the

modification or derogatory action in relation to his or her work is is most often used to

object to any treatment or use of their work by others which the author/creator feels

could damage his or her reputation or integrity. A common example of this is often seen

in elections when artists or songwriters object to the use of songs from their repertoire

by candidates with controversial politics or reputations.

Every day content creators invest their time, energy, and creativity into generating and

publishing millions of original works online. In the time it takes for a person to copy and

paste, those works can be taken out of the creator’s control and passed off as the

creative labors of another. Understanding the scope of rights granted to copyright

owners is the first step in protecting your works online, and can also help you avoid

infringing on other creators’ rights. An important step in protecting your online content is

letting others know that the particular work you have placed online is your own. Works

no longer need to have a copyright notice to qualify for copyright protection, but by

affixing a notice to a work, a copyright owner lets others know that the work is protected

by copyright and the content creator is the owner of that copyrighted work.

Subsequently, third parties can clearly see whom they must seek permission from if

they wish to use the work.Notice may be designated by the use of the “©” symbol, the

word “Copyright”, or the abbreviation “Copr.”, followed by the copyright owner’s name

and the year of the publication of the work. In addition to this information, it may be

beneficial to provide an easy way for third parties to contact you for the purposes of

asking permission to use your works.

Copyright is a set of ‘exclusive’ rights, giving creators the right to control the use of their

work and the ability to earn from it. The term ‘exclusive’ in copyright law means that the

copyright owner has the right to exclude others from using his or her work without

first getting permission. Through the mechanism of copyright, creators’ efforts can be
rewarded and that encourages the production of books, films, songs and other creative

expressions. The ultimate goal of copyright is the creation and dissemination of

knowledge. Therefore, one of the most delicate goals of copyright is to strike a balance

between protecting creative works and allowing the public to use them.
References:

Copyright is governed in the UK by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. UK copyright law is also
subject to the terms of several international treaties.

For types of copyright work see, Sections 3 – 8 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

For ownership of copyright see, Sections 9 – 11 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

For economic rights, see Sections 16 – 24 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

For moral rights, see Sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

The UK Intellectual Property Office provides further Copyright information here, and the World
Intellectual Property Organisation,

SUBMITTED BY : DERECHO MAYRYLL IRISH