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Glossary If you don't know your copyleft from your copyright, or are confused by collecting societies and patents, this glossary should be useful. This Glossary of Terms has been prepared by Sarah Andrew of Arts Council England. Appropriation (1) The first step in the act of theft e.g. "A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it;" 1968 Theft Act (2) an act of cultural practice, e.g. "Everyday life invents itself by poaching in countless ways on the propoerty of others," Michel de Certeau, The Practice Of Everyday Life, (1984) Assignment Passing on the rights of an author/creator, usually for money, always in writing. Moral rights are not assignable under some European legislation, but, in the UK your morals can be transactable. Attribution Crediting an author ofa piece of work; essential for Fair Dealing. Author The author of a work is the person or company that produced it. In the case of employees, it may be assumed to be their employer, if the work was produced as part of their employment. Linked to models of singular genius and authenticity, the author returns from death after Derrida and asserts its copyright. Collaboration A tricky concept for lawyers, where more than two parties contribute to the creation of a format of work. Where this occurs from shared enthusiasms and interests, or most dangerously, friendship, it can lead to messy litigation if the work attracts commercial exploitation. Agreed parameters should be set in advance depending on the relationship between the parties, leading to shared (also called 'joint') copyright, e.g. when it is not possible to distinguish one author's contribution from another's, or separate copyrights in the different elements of the work. Collecting Societies Collecting societies are non-profit making private organisations created to enable rights holders to license certain uses of their works on their behalf, such as public performance of music and photocopying of published material. Different societies collect for different creative interests. The following acronyms are useful: DACS (designers & artists), ALCS (authors), PRS, MCPS and PPL (music performance) and VPL (music videos). A full list of bodies and relevant unions can be found at www.rcm.ac.uk/copyright/32_4.htm Commons (1) Land previously available to all for use, but not ownership, largely removed from public access in a process commenced by the enclosure acts of the 17th century. (2) Cultural resources unfettered by copyright, increasingly barred to public access, hence the phrase "The Second Enclosure Movement" (see: www.law.duke.edu/pd/papers/boyle.pdf). Copyleft Copyleft coined by artist Ray Johnson to describe his appropriation of images then distributed in a noncommercial manner as mail art or as gifts. The phrase has been adopted, particularly by Free Software developers, to name adaptive use of copyright law. Copyright The group term for the rights connected to the publication and dissemination of original works. Different rights apply according to the nature of the work, which could be literary, artistic or communicative (the latter covers web publication and broadcasating). The rights include reproduction (copying), publication, performance, broadcasating or communicating to the public and adaptation. Moral rights flow alongside the copyright. An author's permission is needed to use these rights. Copyright Notice Not required in order to assert copyright protection under UK law, but frequently required by other jurisdictions, so advisable (see end of this glossary for formulation). Creator (see Author and Genius) Derivative Work A derivative work uses a part or even the whole of another work as an element in its composition. This doctrine assumes the earlier work has a fixed point of origination and raises questions of how original the latter work is capable of being. Design Rights An intellectual property right protecting original, non-commonplace three dimensional designs of the shape or configuration of products. It is a right to prevent copying, lasting only 10 years after first marketing the product or 15 years from creation of the design. Design rights may be bought, sold or licensed. Formats Concepts for works, most commonly seen in television and film, bought and sold for appreciable sums, despite the legal principle that there is no copyright in ideas. Zeccola v. Universal City Studios Inc. (1982) 46 ALR 189 Fair Dealing/Fair Use Fair dealing was introduced into UK law under the Design and Copyright Act 1988. It is a rigid legal format whose key terms must be observed. Copyright material can only be used under fair dealing for the purpose of criticism and review of that work or the reporting of a news event. The material must be used fairly (see Time Warner Entertainment co. v. Channel Four Television Corpn Plc 1994 EMLR 7 for definitions). It should not be confused with Fair Use, a more liberal doctrine under US law, which for example allows parody as a fair use. Genius A rationale for the preservation of copyright in its current form, copyright rewards and protects the authentic original creative production of hte non-relational genius. Ideas There is no copyright in an idea alone, just the expression of it. However, see formats. See also Autodesk v. Dyason (No.2) (1993) 176 CLR 300. Infringement Allegation made by copyright holder for use of copyright material without their permission. If a claim is successful it can lead to financial compensation and destruction of infringing works. Intellectual Property A global term for the capitalisation of creative thought processes. It covers a wide range of human activity from patents for inventions, trade marks for brand identities, passing off laws, trade secrets protection, conditional access and data rights management systems, design rights, copyrights and performers rights to plant breeders' rights. Joint Copyright See Collaboration Liability To have a responsibility for, or to be subject to the consequences of, whatever you did - see Infringement. License A document which sets the terms of use of a piece of work agreed between the author or rights holder ("the licencee") and intended user ("the licensor"). Logos Signs and signifiers denoting the source of goods or services. Although these may be common words or images, and so uncopyrightable due to insufficient originality, they can be registered as trademarks after which their use by other parties becomes actionable. See Exxon Corp v. Exxon Insurance Consultants International (1981) 3 All ER 241 Originality (1) Essential pre-requisite for copyright protection, work must have substantial elements of originality in content and/or composition or layout. See Bridgeman Art Library Ltd. v. Corel Corporation, 36 F. Supp. 2d 191 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) (2) Impossible concept in postmodern media - see Appropriation definition (2). Open Source A computer programming movement based around programme codes that are both written and licensed in a way to let other users adapt and develop the programmes without fear of litigation. It involves commitment to ideas such as free redistribution and non-discrimination between users and technologies. Patents A system of registration of unique processes, products and inventions. Brunelleschi may have received the first patent from the Florentine authorities in 1421 fora ship loading crane, but the earliest known English patent was granted by Henry VI to Flemish-born John of Utynam in 1449. For a method of making stained glass, required for the windows of Eton College. Parody A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule, a risky defence in copyright. Proprietary When used in connection with a software programmed owned by a company, it indicates that the programme is formatted so it does not allow access to its source code and cannot be adapted. Public Domain Once copyright has expired in a work it is theoretically in the public domain and available for anyone to use, regardless of copyright. However, practices of restricting access can render the concept impractical, c.f. Sistine Chapel. Rights Holder This may be the original author, their relatives if deceased or, if they have assigned their copyright, it may be a publisher or other commercial entity purely associated with exploitation of the work. Rescension A term coined by Lawrence Liang as a potential model for appropriation practices. "It is a work created through a modification, adaptation, addition, or use of an existing work. It is not treated as a replacement of another work even if it modifies the reading of another work, but has the status of an individual work created through an interactive process with other works." From, 'Copyright, Cultural Production and Open Content Licensing', by Lawrence Liang at http://pzwart.wdka.hro.nl/mdr/pubsfolder Royalties The capitalisation of the thought processes that created the work, commonly a proportion of the profit from publication assigned to an author on each publication. The amount will be determined by agreement, in accordance with precedence or perhaps the relative bargaining power of publisher, distributor and rights holder. LB (Plastics) Ltd v. Swish Products Ltd [1979] RPC 551 Trade Marks A trade mark allows traders to protect their brand signifiers in order that consumers can recognise their product. it must be registered, distinctive and not deceptive or contrary to law or morality. Treaties Various international treaties govern world trade copyright arrangements, ostensibly to reduce inter-jurisdictional disputes. most but not all nations co-operate with these treaties. the main treaties include: the Berne Convention (copyright, established 1886); Paris Convention (patents, established 1883); TRIPS (the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, established 1986-94) and WTO-WIPO (sets out how the WTO will co-operate with WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization, established 1996). The cultural position on intellectual property that they represent has been challenged in various international declarations such as the Bellagio Declaration of 1993 and the Geneva Declaration on the future of WIPO 2004. Verbatim Copy A full and complete copy without any changes. A pure copyist cannot claim copyright. © Sarah Andrew 2005. |
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