Copyrights
Russell Egan, Esq.

Russell Egan is an Houston, Texas intellectual property attorney with extensive experience interacting with inventors to obtain patent protection for their properties.  This includes novelty, infringement and validity searches and opinions, application preparation and prosecution, appeals and interferences, and other needs as they arise.  He has obtained over 500 domestic and foreign patents for individuals and corporations covering a wide range of technologies and subject matter.  His clients range from Fortune 500 corporations   to small, single member entities.  His web site is located at www.lawyerscenter.com/patentlaw.

What is a Copyright?

Unlike a patent, which must be applied for and which may or may not be granted, a copyright exists automatically from the moment a work of authorship is created.  Additional rights can be obtained from the Registrar of Copyrights.

What is a "Work of Authorship"?

A "work of authorship" includes any of the following when fixed in a tangible medium:

literary works
musical works
dramatic works
pantomimes and choreographic works
pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
movies and other audio/visual works, and
sound recordings.

A "tangible medium" is any material object in which a work is fixed.  Some examples incude paper, film, phonographic records, compact discs and magnetic tape.

Some works do not meet the definition of a work of authorship and are not copyrightable.  Examples of such works include:

impromptu speeches which are not fixed in a tangible medium
titles and other short phrases, and
ideas, methods, and concepts.

A work is "created" when it is fixed in a tangible medium from which the work can be perceived, either directly or by means of a machine such as a record player, a computer, or a movie projector.

What is a Literary Work?

In many cases, the most important type of authorship is in literary works.  "Literary works" include works as diverse as books, poems, magazine articles, computer programs, and telephone directories.   Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works include works such as paintings, photographs, maps, statues, blueprints, toys, and jewelry.  A "sound recording as a recorded rendition of works" as opposed to the underlying work, which itself may be the subject of still another copyright.

Who Owns a Copyright?

A copyright belongs to the author of the work except in the case of a "work for hire", in which case the owner is the employer.  A work for hire includes a work created by an employee in the course and scope of employment.  Many employers include works of authorship as well as inventions in their employee's invention assignment agreements.  In the strictest sense, a contract photographer owns the rights to the photographs taken for a business unless it is made clear the work is done for hire.

What are the Rights of a Copyright Owner?

A copyright gives it owner a "bundle" of exclusive rights including:

• The right to make copies

• The right to distribute copies

• The right to prepare derivative works

• The right to public performance, and

• The right of public display.

A copyright lasts for the lifetime of the author, plus 50 years.  In the case of an anonymous work or a work done for hire, the term is 100 years from creation or 75 years from publication, whichever expires first.

To copy or reproduce, without permission, a copyrighted work or part of a work may be an infringement of a copyright.  Penalties for infringement may include an injunction against future infringement, payment of damages, and, in extreme cases, criminal punishment.

What is Fair Use?

The law allows for certain uses of another's copyrighted work without permission from the author.  Under the "fair use" doctrine it is not an infringement to use a work in a manner in which it was intended to be used even if such use appears to infringe one of the other rights of the copyright owner.  Some examples of "fair use" include quoting from a copyrighted book in a critical review and videotaping a copyrighted television show off the air for later viewing.   It is not "fair use" to create a training manual by copying and compiling selected chapters from a collection of text books on a particular subject.   Similarly, it is not "fair use" to make multiple copies of an article from a technical journal for in-house publication.

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