1. Welcome to the IEEE IPR Office Copyright Tutorial
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2. This Copyright Tutorial has been designed
to provide you with an overview of copyright laws,
and will hopefully provide some insight
to an important topic
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3. Part One: Basic Concepts and the History of Copyright
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4. What Is Copyright?
Copyright is one of a group of intellectual property rights (or laws) that are intended to protect the interests of an author or copyright owner. In other words, these laws give an author/owner nearly exclusive control over the use of his/her work.
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5. What Is Copyright? Copyright comes into existence the moment
a work (an article, a book, a computer program,
an , a symphony, a sculpture, etc.) is first fixed
in any tangible medium of expression, now known or
later developed, from which it can be perceived, reproduced,
or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid
of a machine or device.
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6. The following works are copyrightable:
Literary works
Motion pictures
Musical works
Sound recordings
Visual artwork
Architectural work
Pantomime and dance performances
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7. The following works are copyrightable:
NOT
Ideas
Concepts
Processes
Systems
Procedures
Methods of operations
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8. Early Copyright History
1447
Invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg Mass production of printed text allowed for cheap and easy duplication of works
Statute of Anne
First copyright law
that covered works owned
by individuals (vs. the Guild)
and lasted 21 years
Prussian parliament enacts
the first“international”
copyright legislation
to protect German authors
For years, copyright was tied closely
with the advancement of
the printed word
Licensing Act
Required all books to be licensed
with the Publishing Guild
First copyright granted
to the King’s Printer,
Richard Pynson, for two years
1518
1662
1710
1794
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9. Part Two: Copyright Treaties, Laws and Fair Use
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10. International Treaties
A work originating in one of the countries that is a signatory member of the treaty must be given at least the same level of protection in each member country as that country gives to works created by its own citizens.
The is an international copyright treaty
that was first adopted in Berne, Switzerland in It establishes
a minimum level of copyright protection.
Berne Convention
The (UCC) was created in 1952 through UNESCO; the UCC remains significant in the countries that are UCC but not Berne Union members.
Universal Copyright Convention
From “US Dept of State” web site at
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11. U.S. Copyright Laws
The represented a significant revision to US copyright law. Most notably, the Act:
1976 Copyright Act
Established the need for a signed transfer of copyright from an author to another person or organization
Extended the term of copyright protection for the life of the author, plus 50 years
Determined that copyright protection began once the work was “fixed in any tangible medium”, as opposed to earlier copyright laws that required the work to be published.
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12. U.S. Copyright Laws
The , signed into law on October 27, 1998, amended the provisions concerning duration of copyright protection by generally extending for an additional 20 years for authored works.
Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act
From “US Copyright Office” web site at
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13. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
U.S. Copyright Laws
The was enacted on
October 28, 1998 to revise U.S. law to comply with the 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Treaties that were intended
to strengthen protection for copyrighted works in electronic formats.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
The DMCA:
Establishes prohibitions on circumventing technological measures that control access to a work protected under the U.S. Copyright Act
Makes it illegal to … traffic in any technology… which is primarily intended to circumvent a technological measure that protects a right of a copyright owner in a work protected by copyright.
Prohibits intentional removal or alteration of copyright management information
From “US Copyright Office” web site at
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14. U.S. Copyright Laws
On June 30, 2000, the US Congress enacted the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act
(E-Sign)
The E-Sign Act is a nationwide standard that gives digital signatures the same legal force as signatures written in ink. By making electronic signatures legally binding, this legislation enables consumers,
enterprises, and government organizations to use the Internet
to engage in transactions and business processes that require
a personal signature.
From “VeriSign” web site at
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15. What is Fair Use?
refers to a set of ideas or concepts intended to limit the near-exclusive rights of the copyright owner under specific circumstances.
Fair Use
However, because Fair Use is a doctrine and not a fixed body of laws, no generally applicable definition is available.
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16. The nature of the copyrighted work;
Fair Use Defined
The 1976 Copyright Act gives some guidance to help identify fair use:
“In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include— 1.
The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; 2.
The nature of the copyrighted work; 3.
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; 4.
And the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.”
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17. Part Three: Additional Information
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18. Sites to visit for more information about copyright
United States Copyright Office promotes creativity by administering and sustaining an effective national copyright system.     
The Copyright Clearance Center provides the most complete and convenient access to copyright permission for millions of publications worldwide.
Association of American Publishers (AAP)  has gathered several resources related to copyright and permissions throughout their web site.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is an agency of the United Nations that administers 23 international treaties dealing with different aspects of intellectual property protection.     
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19. Sites to visit for more information about copyright
American Intellectual Property Law Association aids in the improvement in laws related to intellectual property and in their proper interpretation by the courts, and to provide legal education to the public and to its members on intellectual property issues.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) seeks to update U.S. copyright law for the digital age in preparation for ratification of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties.
The Copyright Management Center (CMC) serves the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and larger Indiana University community with the management of copyright issues
American Mathematical Society (AMS)  Copyright and Permission Information
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20. For more information on this topic, please contact us:
IEEE IPR Office
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21. The IPR Tutorial Series
For other tutorials on IPR-related topics, such as
Trademarks
Patents
Plagiarism
Please visit the IEEE IPR Office web site
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22. This concludes the IEEE IPR Office Copyright Tutorial.
We hope it helped to provide a better understanding of copyright.
Copyright © 2008 IEEE