License
Licenses are granted by an authority to allow a usage; in my case, the use and distribution of resources by the copyright owner (i.e. me). I may decide to offer my photograph for free or charge a price; either way, I can include a license to limit usage, and I maintain the copyright. Just because someone pays money doesn’t mean they have full control or rights to what they’re buying. Licenses can dictate the number or uses, the bounds of use and even the length of time until the license expires.
When we create something like a photograph or write a book, we own the copyright, which is our exclusive right as the author to own that work. We control who else can use our work and in what manner. For example, I could allow someone to print the book or adapt it for a movie. Instead of verbal agreements, it is distributed with a license that sets the guidelines for use. The things that are copyrighted are also referred to as intellectual property.
A license can be written from scratch, but most people choose a well-known one. Some common terminology used in licensing, is
- “Copy” – A simple copy of the original work.
- “Modify” – To alter copyrighted work in some way before using it.
- “Derivative work” – The result of modifying copyrighted work to produce new work.
- “Distribute” – The act of giving someone your work under a license.
- “Redistribute” – The act of distributing work and its license after obtaining it under license from the original copyright owner.
- “Share alike” – Permission to distribute derivative work under the same or a similar license.
- “Credit” or “attribution” – The act of identifying the original copyright owner.
- “Copyright notice” – A written phrase or symbol (©) informing of copyright ownership (not necessarily required by law).
- “All rights reserved” – A common copyright notice declaring that no usage rights exist (again, not necessarily required).
- “Warranty” – A written guarantee included with the license (or, usually, not).
Creative Commons – Lawrence Lessig founded Creative Commons (CC) in 2001 to create a series of easy-to-understand copyright licenses for online creative work. These licenses established the notion of “some rights reserved.”
The Creative Commons license has six variations. It’s really a collection of licenses that cover particular uses. These include whether the licensed work can be used commercially, whether it can be modified, and whether derivative work can be redistributed under the same (or a compatible) license. A Creative Commons license can be restricted to certain jurisdictions or apply internationally.
The basic Creative Commons license is CC Attribution. It allows for all copying, modification and redistribution (even commercially), provided that the original author is attributed (with no implication of endorsement). Work under CC Attribution is essentially free to use.
The CC Attribution license can be extended to CC Attribution-ShareAlike. The same rules apply, except that all derivative work must be licensed the same way. This distinction ensures that all resulting work remains free. Wikipedia uses this license for its text.
Software License – It is a legal instrument (usually by way of contract law, with or without printed material) governing the use or redistribution of software. Under United States copyright law all software is copyright protected, except material in the public domain. A typical software license grants an end-user permission to use one or more copies of software in ways where such a use would otherwise potentially constitute copyright infringement of the software owner’s exclusive rights under copyright law.
In addition to granting rights and imposing restrictions on the use of software, software licenses typically contain provisions which allocate liability and responsibility between the parties entering into the license agreement. Software licenses can generally be fit into the following categories: proprietary licenses and free and open source. The significant feature that distinguishes them are the terms under which the end-user may further distribute or copy the software.
Fair Use
Fair use is an exception to the exclusive rights held by the copyright owner. It exists in some countries such as the US and UK. Under it, in certain cases, using work without permission is possible. If someone’s usage is defined as fair use, then they don’t need to obtain a license. Essentially, using copyrighted material is a legal right. Examples of fair use might include:
- Educational purposes, such as teaching and student research;
- Making commentary and criticism as part of a news report or published article.
There’s a misconception that noncommercial or nonprofit use is always acceptable. It isn’t. Fair use is a legal term and is judged case by case. Always research thoroughly if you think your use of copyrighted material is legal.
Trademark
A trademark is a visual symbol in the form of a word, a device or a label applied to show objects of trade in relation to the buying public that they produce goods or are otherwise treated by a particular person even when distinguished from similar goods manufactured or traded by other people. A man who sells his goods under a particular trademark acquires a sort of limited exclusive right to use the mark in relation to those goods to be used. Such a right is recognized by the use as a form of property purchased and protected under the brand of general laws. A person can also acquire a similar right to a mark which is not yet used, under the Trade Marks Act 1999. The law of trademarks is based above all on the distinctive concepts of similarity between the marks and the similarity of the goods.
Trademarks in India are protected under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
Copyright
It is the law that protects the rights held by the creator, developer, or author over their own original work. These works may consist of electronically stored words, photograph, music, work of visual art, or performance art and thereby includes digital property.
There are two types of copyright infringement
- Digital Piracy: Unauthorized reproducing (copying) and distributing (sharing) of digitized property: electronic files and audio-visual media. Obtaining copies of songs, computer software, videos games, and movies without paying for them is all considered Digital Piracy.
- Plagiarism: The copyright violation of using printed words, photos, or illustrations in your own product without permission – where one person copies another’s work and uses it as their own.
Copyright protection includes literary works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures and architectural designs. Rights related to copyright include those made by artists in their performances of sound recordings and television in its radio and television broadcasts.
Intellectual property rights are like any other property rights; the owner or creator can take advantage of a patent, trademark or copyrights to protect his or her own work or investment.
Copyrights in India are protected by the Copyrights Act, 1957.
If the work created satisfies the requirements of the 1957 Act, as to originality etc., certain exclusive rights in dealing with that work in here, under the 1957 Act, on the author[1]. Those rights depend upon the nature of the work. They include the right to make copies of the work, distribute them, perform the work in public or communicate it to the public etc., which others are not permitted to do, in relation to that work, without his consent. The importance of stating that copyright inheres in the author is that on the conditions of Section 13 of the Act being satisfied, copyright in that work will vest in the author of the work. Unlike in the case of a patent, there is no grant of copyright by any public authority. Registration of the copyright is not compulsory for the purpose of exercising any of the rights under the 1957 Act[2] is obtained by the author, especially if the work is of significant commercial value, so that infringers, actual and potential, would be put on notice of the fact of copyright vesting in another would and would not be in a position to advance the defense in infringement proceedings that they were not aware of copyright having vested with the complainant.
Copyright Infringement (Violation): Is when a person violates a copyright by either reproducing, adapting, publicly distributing, performing, or displaying a work without permission from the creator.
