Copyright

A copyright gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights to that work for a certain period of time. This is intended to protect and promote inventors and artists so that they may receive direct and indirect benefits from their creative or intellectual work. For example, the copyright on Mickey Mouse restricts others from creating derivative works based on his distinctive form and manner for their own profit; anyone not licensed by Disney to sell products or designs featuring Mickey can not make money using that copyrighted mouse.

With the advent of the Internet, the issue of copyright came to the fore as permissions were no longer as easily protected. With file and music sharing, digital media, self-publishing, and a massive increase in publicly-accessible information, tracking down and prosecuting the violators of a specific copyright became infinitely more difficult; legal policies to counteract piracy and unfair use on the Internet began to be enacted.

In response to this, a debate over the redefinition of copyright, and of its necessity, spread throughout the online community. The advent of the Creative Commons, the creation of wikis, and the public, license-free release of creative works indicates a shift in consciousness toward a greater freedom of information; yet, the debate over how creators should be reimbursed, and how they can protect their works from unauthorized modification, will continue for some time to come.

by Jessica Reeder Are you a writer, passionate about this or any other topic? Join Blogcritics!

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “Copyright”

• ‘Star Trek’ Leads List of Most Pirated Movies 2009

  
  Disinformation — Authority: 556
  Peter Lauria writing in the New York Post : Poor Paramount. Online pirates pinched more than 20 million copies of “Star Trek” and the sequel to “Transformers,” giving those two Paramount Pictures releases the dubious distinction of being the most ripped-off films of the year, according to a report released ...
  4 hours ago

• What Does The Copyright Year Range On Software Mean?

  
  Laptop,Notebook,Computer Gadget,Cheap Computer parts — Authority: 167
  Hi, I was just wondering what the year range on software means. For example, when I use Macromedia Fireworks CS3 at my shcool, the start up screen starts like this “copyright (c) 1998-2007…”, anyone know what this means? Thank you Related posts: What Is The Difference Between Software Patents And Software ...
  5 hours ago

• No better way to pass the time, than viewing a photographic exhibition

  
  YesBut's Images — Authority: 143
  Click on image to visit B&W Gallery Posted in Abstract, Architecture, Art, Copyright © All text and images by YesBut, Digital art, Digital photography, foto, fotos, Life, London, Nikon D40, people, photo, photo blog, photoblog, Photography, photos, pictures, Street Art, street photography Tagged: Nikon D40, ...
  5 hours ago

• New Year’s Resolutions: Update your Copyright Notices

  
  The Next Web — Authority: 754
  Only a few days left until we celebrate the new year. Champagne, parties, fireworks and yes, new years resolutions. One thing that is on a lot of web professionals todo lists is to update their ‘Copyright’ notices. Or at least it should be. A lot of websites take hours, days or even years to update. Google ...
  7 hours ago

• Norway UFO Doomsday Spiral

  
  Paranominal — Authority: 159
  Stunning video of the spiral UFO caught on film above Norway! Is this a message to warn us? No intention of copyright infringement intended, please NBC, the public needs to see this.
  8 hours ago

• Star wars Troops [HD]

  
  Watch your favorite videos on the internet. — Authority: 178
  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic-strategies/207289755751 (Clip contains fragments of copyrighted material, copyright not held by the publisher, presented under fair use)
  8 hours ago

• Koss fires executive after alleged $20 million embezzlement

  
  Business Blog — Authority: 174
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Koss Corp fired its vice president of finance after she allegedly embezzled more than $20 million from the headphones maker for a multi-year shopping spree of expensive clothes, jewelry and other personal items. Source:Koss fires executive after alleged $20 million embezzlement ...
  8 hours ago

• If you hadn’t warned me I would have driven into the wall – I think not

  
  YesBut's Images — Authority: 143
  Click on thumbnail to visit B&W Gallery Posted in Abstract, Architecture, Art, Copyright © All text and images by YesBut, Digital art, Digital photography, foto, fotos, humour, Life, London, Nikon D40, people, photo, photo blog, photoblog, Photography, photos, pictures, Street Art, street photography Tagged: ...
  9 hours ago

• African-Arab Seminar on CEL Presentation Available.

  
  Afro-IP - african intellectual property law, practice and policies — Authority: 416
  A few months ago, Afro-Leo posted about the then-upcoming African-Arab Seminar on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions .  A brief recap, the seminar was part of  WIPO’s Standing Committee o n Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) on work on copyright limitations and exceptions.  The December Bibliotheca ...
  9 hours ago

• I can’t remember yesterday, I know I’ve left my bicycle somewhere

  
  YesBut's Images — Authority: 143
  Click here to view B&W Gallery Posted in Abstract, Architecture, Art, Business, Copyright © All text and images by YesBut, Digital art, Digital photography, foto, fotos, humour, Life, London, people, photo, photo blog, photoblog, Photography, photos, pictures, Street Art, street photography Tagged: ...
  12 hours ago

• Torrent Indexer isoHunt Found Guilty of Inducing Infringement

  
  Daily Contributor — Authority: 570
  A US federal court has ruled against torrent indexer isoHunt. It declared the site as guilty for inducing copyright infringement and that is has a similar case like that of Napster, Usenet.com and Grokster. The case started after Columbia, Disney, Tristar, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal and Warner ...
  13 hours ago

• Web 2.0 - The Machine is Us/ing Us

  
  shapeshift.net — Authority: 127
  Fantastic short video that documents the evolution of the Web and how it has changed the way we communicate and suggests that we need to rethink a few things like copyright, authorship, identity, ethics, governance, privacy and so on.
  13 hours ago

• Freddie Mac sees rates headed to 6 percent by end of 2010

  
  Business Blog — Authority: 174
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After hitting an all-time low in early December, the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 5.05 percent this week and could climb to 6 percent by the end of 2010, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing U.S. mortgage financier Freddie Mac’s latest survey. Excerpt ...
  19 hours ago

• No more Pope on a rope, says the Vatican

  
  EndrTimes — Authority: 149
  Frances Gibb, Legal Editor It is one of the most recognised images in the world — the Pope, hand held aloft in blessing. Increasingly, however, the Pope’s name or image is found in less traditional contexts — from soap products and snowstorms to endorsing tomato paste. In a move to control this growing use or ...
  21 hours ago

• Toyota eyes 7.5 million global output for ‘10: reports

  
  Business Blog — Authority: 174
  TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp expects a 17 percent increase in its 2010 global production, excluding units Daihatsu and Hino Motors, from this year to about 7.5 million units, Japanese media reported on Saturday. Go here to see the original: Toyota eyes 7.5 million global output for ‘10: reports [...]
  21 hours ago

• That’s it for another year

  
  YesBut's Images — Authority: 143
  Click on thumbnail to view B&W Gallery Posted in Abstract, Art, Canon G9, Copyright © All text and images by YesBut, Digital art, Digital photography, foto, fotos, internet, London, photo, photo blog, photoblog, Photography, photos, pictures, Street Art, street photography Tagged: Canon G9
  23 hours ago

• Hackers claim to have cracked Amazon Kindle DRM copyright protection

  
  TECH.BLORGE.com — Authority: 599
  DRM (Digital Rights Management) has long been the bane of consumers eager to move over to digital formats. So it’s no wonder hackers are constantly trying to find ways around the much-hated copyright protection.Copyright holders consider DRM as an essential tool in their fight against piracy, but consumers are left ...
  1 day ago

• Best of 2009: “While my guitar gently weeps”

  
  LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION — Authority: 133
  This was first posted on March 31, 2009.One of the first posts on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION® was about Gibson Guitar Corp. v. Paul Reed Smith Guitars, LP, 70 UPSQ2d 1911 (M.D. Tenn. 2004), and the question of whether “only a Gibson guitar can make a Gibson-looking guitar.” Not long after that decision came [...]
  1 day ago

• South Korea’s Lee visits UAE; nuclear deal eyed

  
  Business Blog — Authority: 174
  SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visits the United Arab Emirates on Saturday in a push to win one of the world’s biggest nuclear power plant contracts. Read the original: South Korea’s Lee visits UAE; nuclear deal eyed a2a_linkname="South Korea’s Lee visits UAE; nuclear deal [...]
  1 day ago

• More Stores Open on Christmas Day 2009 Full Video

  
  Newsalistic — Authority: 167
  
  1 day ago

Comments about Copyright