Thursday, October 30, 2008

Copyright is for all of us

I have always known the basics of copyright law. However, in my studying I have learned that as vast a subject as it is, the rules are clear and concise. Over the past 5 months I have heard time and time again people saying that it is a, "fine line" or "Copyright is a fuzzy subject" It is NOT. It is written out clear and to the point. As promised I will be printing information on copyright and ethics,with the permission of course. Tonight I would like to start by showing you what Wikipedia has printed. This is a copyright free article and can be read here in it's totality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyrights

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship exclusive rights to control its distribution, usually for 70 years after the author's death, after which the work enters the public domain. Generally, it is "the right to copy", but usually provides the author with other rights as well, such as the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other, related rights. It is an intellectual property form (like the patent, the trademark, and the trade secret) applicable to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete. Copyright was initially conceived as a way for governments in Europe to restrict printing; the contemporary intent of copyright is to promote the creation of new works by giving authors control of and profit from them.
Copyright has been internationally standardized, lasting between fifty to a hundred years from the author's death, or a finite period for anonymous or corporate authorship; some jurisdictions have required formalities to establishing copyright, most recognize copyright in any completed work, without formal registration. Generally, copyright is enforced as a
civil matter, though some jurisdictions do apply criminal sanctions.
Most
jurisdictions recognize copyright limitations, allowing "fair" exceptions to the author's exclusivity of copyright, and giving users certain rights. The development of the Internet, digital media, computer network technologies, such as peer-to-peer filesharing, have prompted reinterpretation of these exceptions, introduced new difficulties in enforcing copyright, and inspired additional challenges to copyright law's philosophic basis. Simultaneously, businesses with great economic dependence upon copyright have advocated the extension and expansion of their copy rights, and sought additional legal and technological enforcement.

This last sentence also includes the traditional cultural expressions. http://tlc.usm.maine.edu/documents/Sturrock.pdf

Copyright effects us all.


Bead with Honor and Integrity
Nicole/Beadwright

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