This is a law whose purpose is to control the powers and relations in the environment of intellectual property: for example, among writers and literature, composers and music, scientists and inventions. This right is characterized by the presence of creativity in any author's development. It is a mistake to think that it is possible to preserve copyrights only within the homeland. In fact, there is a notion of copyright international, which allows you to keep the priority for any creations, even if you are abroad, or if the creation has got abroad.
This is one of the first industries to conclude an international treaty. The most major conventions are the following:
- The Berne Convention of 1886 (security of artistic and literary creations). This convention was revised and supplemented at special conferences that were held in 1896, 1908, 1914, 1928, 1948, 1967, 1971.
- The Geneva Convention of 1952 or Universal Copyright Convention (UCC), on copyright. It was revised in 1971 in Paris, with additional protocols added 1,2,3. The principles of the UCC are used worldwide.
- The Inter-American Convention of 1946 in Washington, on the copyright to scientific, literary and artistic works.
Subjects and objects of copyright at the international level are residents and their creations, which require certain defense.
A Copyright Owner's Rights
The copyright holder is accorded such rights as:
- Repeat your work again without limits
- Create works that originate from the original creation
- The ability to get financial reward for his creation
- Circulate duplicates of your creation by sale or transferring ownership
- Perform the work publicly
Please note that the owner can transfer this right at his own discretion to others.
It is worth noting the fact that if the author performs his creation for an individual firm or organization, then the author loses the copyright. Since in general, this situation is considered as a work done to order and all the powers are transferred to the customer.
The Limits of Copyright Protection
The author has the right to allow or forbid the use of a work produced by him, to third parties. But like every single-law right, copyright must be interpreted in a restrictive way.
This right has temporary and territorial limitations.
Creations of national creativity and official papers do not fall under the scope of this law.
The implementation of copyright is limited to information legislation (including provisions on the personal life of a citizen, personal information, etc.), rules on unfair competition and others.
These limitations indicate the limits beyond which the right to use the work simply does not apply.
In addition, the law establishes special exceptions to the general regime of the right to use the creation in certain public interests. Such exceptions are reflected in the legislation of many states, as well as in international legal and regulatory acts on copyright. Such restrictions can be grouped according to the type of public interest:
- use for personal purposes;
- the sphere of free exchange of information - reproduction of public speeches, reports, articles on certain topics, use of it in the coverage of current events (for example news, citation);
- use of the creation in order to ensure social progress in social, learning, and cultural fields;
- for the benefit of the state.
Main Facts to Know About Copyright Law
The primary goal of copyright law is to protect authors, thanks to the creative energy of which the light of this or that work of art, literature or science.
- Providing legal guarantees to authors is a pledge of the improvement of the creative potential of the residents and the enhancement of the cultural heritage of mankind.
- The law does not afford unlimited copyright defense. Over time, copyrights lose action, and the work becomes part of the "public domain".
- There are some features that determine when work becomes part of the public domain. Typically, such factors include the time and place of it.
- Properly designed copyrights will help ensure defense of legal disputes, abuse by unscrupulous competitors and receive remuneration for the efforts made and time spent during the entire period of copyright.