Internet and Intellectual Property  University of Palestine  Eng. Wisam Zaqoot  Feb 2010 ITSS 4201 Internet Insurance and Information Hiding

IP Basics:  Intellectual Property consists of: 1.Copyright 2.Trademark 3.Patent 4.Trade Secrets  These various components are treated VERY differently under the law, even though multiple IP components may apply to a single work.

Copyright  Copyrights: gives the holder some exclusive rights to control some reproduction of works of authorship, such as books and music, for a certain period of time. Copyrights  Includes the rights to: Reproduce the work Make copies Perform or display the work publicly

Copyright holders have the right to stop other parties from… 1.making copies of the work. 2.making changes to the work or creating new works based on the original work. 3.distributing the work. 4.publishing the work. 5.licensing the work to others. 6.otherwise exploiting the work.

Copyright  How does protection attach? The copyrighted material must be  fixed in a tangible medium of expression  Original  The result of some creative effort Example: This Power Point presentation vs. the talk itself  In many cases it is n ot a straightforward determination  No duty to enforce infringement­- copyright holders have the choice to enforce or not enforce infringement and, unlike trademark and patents, do not risk losing their rights by not prosecuting infringement

Trademark TrademarksTrademarks: are distinctive names, phrases or marks used to identify products to consumers. Trademarks  Federal registration is the best protection- requires a trademark search, publication with a period for contests to the issuance of the mark.  Must prosecute infringement of trademark or risk losing the mark yourself!!

Patents PatentsPatents: are the exclusive right of the inventor to prevent others from making, using and selling a patented invention for a fixed period of time in return for the inventor's disclosing the details of the invention to the public. Patents  The prevention is for a certain period, in some countries 20 years from the filing date of a patent application.

Trade Secrets Trade secretsTrade secrets: Any information that may be used in the operation of a business and that is sufficiently valuable to afford an actual or potential economic advantage. Trade secrets  Some companies enforce a contract under which those given access to information are not permitted to disclose it to others.  Examples: Programming code;

Misconceptions  Is it okay to use something if:  I use less than 8 seconds;  I change 40% of it;  I’m not selling it;  I’m not making any money;  I say where it came from/ link to it. ???  No, this is Wrong !!!

Fair Use  Fair use is any use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, where the use is done for limited and “transformative” purpose.  This mainly applies in US  Transformative use: This is vague and ambiguous.

 Does not say there is not infringement but that the infringement is permissible.  Examples of fair use are the limited use for commentary, parody, criticism, news reporting, research…etc.

Measuring Fair Use: The Four Factors 1.The purpose and character of your use; 2.The nature of the copyrighted work; 3.The amount and substantiality of the portion taken; AND 4.The effect of the use upon the potential market

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) In 1998 the DMCA was passed in US mainly creating:  Makes it a crime to circumvent anti-piracy measures built into most commercial software.  In general, limits Internet service providers from copyright infringement liability for simply transmitting information over the Internet.

DMCA: ISP Liability  ISP’s are only liable if it knows one of its subscribers was using its system to infringe. However, the DCMA allows copyright holders to ask that an ISP’s remove access to copyright infringing material if the copyrighted material is made available through the ISP.

Examples: Copyright violation:  When software became readily available to make perfect copies of music, services such as MP3.com, Napster, Kazaa and Limewire sprung up.  The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) engaged filed a lawsuit against Napster.

Case study: Google books vs. publishers  The publishing industry and Google entered into a settlement agreement in  Google agreed to pay a total of $125 million to rights-holders of books they had scanned.

Trademark and Internet Infringement:  Consumer Confusion: Courts will usually prohibit trademark uses where consumers are likely to be confused because two marks are similar and used in the same channels of trade.  Cybersquatting: mcdonalds.com  Typosquatting: Misrosoft.com  Conflicts between Competitors or Noncompetitors: Kaplan.com

Protect Yourself Content You Create and Administer Copyright is automatic (no steps are required to create a copyright), but to insure the greatest level of protection you should:  Include a copyright notice on your work.  Register your work with the copyright office * Copyright, ©, All Rights Reserved

Licenses vs. Releases  A license is the legal right to do something that you otherwise would not be permitted to do. - A copyright owner can give you the right to duplicate a photograph, use a piece of music, adapt a novel into a screenplay, post your video on YouTube, Tweet your talk while it’s happening.  A release is an agreement by which someone releases you from legal liability for a certain activity. - A TV show gets a release from you to use your image free from invasion of privacy problems.