Lesson 1: Basics of Copyright

Lesson 1: The Basics of Copyright and a little History
By Terri Hopkin and Melissa Olivero © 2005

The first thing we need to realize is that the Internet is a global community, and even if you live in the United States you may be using images in your creating that originated in the United Kingdom, Australia, China - there are no obvious International Borders, and as you hop from one internet site to the next, which laws apply to you? How do you know you are not breaking International Laws?

The aim of this Course is to provide you with as much knowledge and information as possible so that you would be fully equipped to provide a full and detailed response to this question, but first a little history.

A little history . . .

The need for an International Agreement on copyrights and intellectual property became evident as far back as 1873, when in Venice, organizers of the International Exhibition of Inventions found that it could not attract foreign exhibitors, because they believed their ideas would be stolen and exploited commercially in other countries.

1886 – 2005

Recognizing the need for an International Agreement on Copyright and Intellectual Property Laws a convention was held in Berne, Switzerland on September 9^th 1886, it became known as the Berne Convention. The first countries to sign the agreement were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. By the end of the 19^th Century Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway and Japan had also signed and subscribed to the Berne Convention.

Over the years there have been numerous conventions held by varying bodies, and often amendments are needed to the statute books, but from 1886 the Berne Convention has set out the standards and laws and all subscribing countries have agreed to abide by the same laws and principles.

It would be over a hundred years from the first agreement before the United States would join the other nations is subscribing to the Berne Convention on March 1^st 1989. We have attached for your own personal reference a notepad copy of all countries currently subscribing to the Berne Convention, and we have also put the full list in the database section of the Group which can be accessed here.

United States and Title 17

The area of Law in the US that pertains not only to the Berne Convention but to copyright and intellectual property rights in general is known as Title 17.

Title 17 consists of a preface, 13 chapters and 9 appendixes. As it is the most documented resource available on the internet today and as it has been written in accordance with the Berne Convention; Title 17 will provide the backbone to our Course.

Finally, we would like to stress that the Course will only concentrate on the laws pertaining to graphics and pictorial art, we will not be looking at the full scope of the laws as they relate to all genre that can be copyrighted.

As we move on we need you to clear your mind of everything that you ever thought you knew about copyright and let us all look at the laws with fresh eyes. Ready?

What is Copyright?

Every painting, every print, every piece of artwork that you have seen has been painted or created by some talented artist. Every photograph that you have viewed has been snapped by someone with a camera, the copyright of each individual piece of work is originally OWNED by the artist or the photographer.

It should be noted that you can not copyright a great idea; you can only copyright a physical (printed or digital) image. If you have a great idea for a painting and someone else actually paints it, then the copyright belongs to the painter, it is that simple!

What we need to remember, and what sometimes seems to be overlooked, is that artists paint to earn a living. It is their trade; it is the way they feed their families. They sell and display their work through various mediums, but the bottom line is, if you are looking at their paintings, either in a store, an online gallery, or maybe even in a gift shop, it is there to be sold, just like all other merchandise.

When is Copyright established?

Even before the ink has dried on the canvas or as soon as the shutter is pressed on the camera – copyright is established. It is the artist’s or photographer’s exclusive right to say this is mine, I own it – I can decide how it is used.

Under the Berne Convention copyright lasts for the life of the artist plus a minimum of 50 years. Each country is entitled to extend the life of the copyright if they wish. The United States exercises this right, and for them the length of a copyright is the life of an artist plus 70 years.

Any breach of this copyright during this period and the original owner, or his heirs, is entitled to sue the offender under the legal system.

Notice of Copyright

Okay... you know that little sign ©... you make that by holding down your "Alt" key and then pressing in order the following numbers on your number keypad 0 1 6 9. When you are in Paint Shop Pro, just open your text box and do Alt0169 and you'll see the symbol. Sometimes, you may have to change the font to get the symbol.

Your Notice of Copyright should be in a visible place on your creation.

When you have the space to give the "Full Copyright Notice" (copyright©artistfirstandlastname), then you should put the entire verbiage.

When you are short on space, you can give a shortened version of the copyright notice which would be:©2005 Melissa Olivero or © Melissa Olivero 2005. Both the long and short versions are completely legal and legitimate to use.

Your copyright is good starting the year noted in the notice. If you significantly modify the creation the following year, you will then have to change the notice to read accordingly. Otherwise, once done -- it is finished and good for your life plus 50 years (70 years if you live and publish in the United States).
Just remember, you do not have to have the notice for it to be copyrighted... it is copyrighted from the moment you create it. Putting a form of notice on your work is just a small step you can take to protect yourself and your hard work.

We do have a future lesson on watermarks where we will have you create your own copyright notice for your mark.

Registering a Copyright

In the United States, you can take your pursuit of copyright one step further and register it with the government. Because of the amount of detail involved in this, I am giving you the link here: http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap4.html#408.

Many of you will not have a need to take this step, so we would rather you looked into this yourself. We will say that if you plan to publish your work in book form -- perhaps photography or writing a Paint Shop Pro Graphics Book, then you will want to take this measure as soon as possible for any work you have already created. It is not hard to apply for copyright and it only costs $30.00.