Copyright Law

This blog post is about copyright. Copyright is very controversial and convoluted. The basic definition of copyright is a form of protection provided by the U.S. law to the authors of "orginal works of authorship." These works include literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and other works. These works also have to be tangible forms of expression. They can not be ideas, but they can be the forms ideas take. It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights that are provided by the copyright law to the owner of that copyright. The copyright law last the lifetime of the creater plus 70 years.

A copyright is secured automatically when the work is created. A work is created when it is fixed in a copy or phononrecord for the first time. A phonerecord is a material object that embodies fixations or sounds; like a cassetter tape, CD, or vinyl disk. A copy is a material object from which a work can be read or visually perceived directly or or with aid of a machine or device.

This youtube video briefly discuses the copyright law. It uses cartoons and pop up bubbles disregarding copyright usage. It doesnt go into detail, but it does touch on the basics of copyright. It talks about a band producing a song, someone producing a movie, and someone creating a painting. It's major theme is "Copyright protects your creation, all the way across the nation. When it becomes a great big hit, you get all the credit."