Welcome to the Copyright Questions & Answers page of this weblog. If you choose the category Copyright Questions & Answers in this weblog, you will find a wealth of questions with practical, brief responses to help you with your frequently asked questions (faqs) on copyright management and compliance issues.
Have a question? For a quick reply, ask your question under the appropriate heading:
Copyright Management and Copyright Compliance
Duration of Copyright Protection
Fair Use/Dealing and Limitations on Copyright
International Copyright Issues
Museum and Archives Copyright Issues
Ownership of Copyright Materials/Content
Permission to Use Copyright Materials
Registration and Other Formalities for Copyright Protection
Types of Works Protected by Copyright
Have a new heading for Qs & As to recommend? Contact us.
The Copyright Questions & Answers section began in 2006 as a Q&A column in The Copyright & New Media Law Newsletter (at the end of some questions there is a reference to a year and issue of the Newsletter.) Note: do not act upon these answers as legal advice; always get legal advice when necessary.
If you find the Q&A section of this blog helpful, please let us know by posting a comment below. Thanks!
I just got asked (and they wanted to know by Monday morning, of course) if patents are copyrighted and can be digitized. Our Archives likes to have copies of staff patents and are embarking on a digitization project and wanted to include some of the early patents that are not yet in digital form. My thought is that the published patents are government publications so should be copyright-free; is that correct? I wasn’t sure what to tell them.
Hi Carolyn, a patent is separate from a copyright. A patent protects an engine for example. However, there may be copyright in the text and drawings/sketches used to apply for that patent. Those works would be created by non-government employees – ie, by the patent applicant and therefore may have some protection. You say that the patents are by staff — in which case the archives/employer would own the copyright and be able to reproduce them.
Hi Lesley,
Your contact form doesn’t seem to be sending through so I will post my question for you here.
Thanks for your site.
Would you mind pointing me in the right direction.
I am trying to start-up a new online business and I’m trying to (cheaply) find out the current laws in Canada and the U.S. as they pertain to copying, framing, or mirroring information from another user’s site to mine to complement the main purpose of my site. For instance, I might want to ‘pull in’ a directory of accountants from another site or ‘pull in’ news feeds on a particular topic from one of the news providers. I would like to find out if this is legal without their permission.
Thank you in advance for your help.
I am attempting to start up a local newsletter. While much of the content will be opinion pieces and original work from staff members, I would like to add articles from other media sources. How do I go about this? For example, if the New York Times has an article I want my readers to see, how would I go about getting permission to use this? I am wanting to this with my up and coming website, too. Another example is a particle political website I frequent. They mostly have partial or even full articles from other media sources on their site, and they update daily. Are they getting permission per article, or do they have some sort of deal with the media source in general to use their content? Or, is this all fair use as long as I don’t change the article and quote the source and author? I am really confused on this. Please help.
Hi Lance, you can start by clicking on Digital as a category in this blog and see what content is relevant to you. Also try http://www.cipo.gc.ca for Canadian info and the US Copyright Office for US info.
Hello,
The PTA at my child’s school in Ontario has initiated a project whereby parent volunteers are recorded reading books from the school library and the recording is then posted onto the school public access website as an mp3 so students can listen and follow along at home with a book they have borrowed from the school library. I highly doubt any permissions have been obtained from the
author/publisher and have concerns of copyright infringement. Are my concerns warranted?
Good idea to ask if permissions have been cleared for the purpose of reading/performing the book as well as posting on the website and allowing the public to access the recordings.
These are issues that arise all the time. No quick answer and this area of law is changing daily — best to undertake some research where you will likely find articles discussing this and similar situations.
I am looking to advertise my law firm with “It’s MGM time!” but I am worried about copywright issues with the beer slogan “It’s MGD time!” Should I be concerned?
Is posting music youtube clips on my facebook wall illegal? Can I be sued for that?
There is this function that youtube provides for sharing music video clips. I personally know that basically everyone shares and posts these clips on their walls, but isn’t that illegal, and if so, can I be fined or sued for posting youtube videos of my favourite music bands on my facebook wall?
we are creating a 60 second video and want to use part of a musical composition for the background. How do I get permisssion to use this piece of music
http://www.motivational-well-being.com/300-violin-orchestra.html
In the U.S., you could try http://www.harryfox.com, an agency that provides licenses for the use of musical compositions.