Questions tagged [copyright]
For questions about the property right inherent in a creative work. Please see the tag wiki and FAQ before asking the question.
1,915
questions
2
votes
1answer
125 views
Does my university employer have a claim to the proceeds from an academic book I am writing?
I am a research scientist with a state university in the United States. I am an at-will employee, not tenured or tenure-track.
Currently I am in the process of developing an academic book in my area ...
2
votes
1answer
16 views
Copyright of derived works without permission
Say Alice produces a copyrighted work. Bob then creates a remix of Alice's work without license or permission to do so, thus violating Alice's copyright.
Does Bob still hold the copyright over the ...
-2
votes
0answers
17 views
Can I use animated GIFs in my Discord bot? [duplicate]
I have a Discord bot that will (in the future) send a GIF in a text channel when a user issues a command. The GIFs are from TV shows and movies, but they only use about three seconds of the media.
...
17
votes
4answers
6k views
Why is this contract worded like a client is talking to himself?
I'm looking at a sample contract for a graphic designer who is planning on doing freelance work. I don't understand why it says that the Client should obtain all copyright permissions for materials ...
0
votes
1answer
30 views
Using pictures from Wikimedia commons?
I'm writing a book (script for students) about art that will be published. I have a lot of images from Wikimedia Commons (photos of sculptures,...). Most of them are licenced so that "You must ...
0
votes
1answer
67 views
Can you use someone else's idea in your own youtube video without citing it?
If I were to watch a video on how to do something on youtube, is it legal to post that same method in my own video? Say, for example, I saw a minecraft video on how to create something. Would I be ...
2
votes
1answer
54 views
Posting copyrighted images on a government complaint
Imagine that I want to file a complaint against a candidate for public office in Washington State who I believe has violated campaign laws. If I file a complaint with the Public Disclosure Commission, ...
0
votes
1answer
58 views
Am I allowed to use H.264/MP4 video files in a commercial game?
I use Adobe Media Encoder to convert my files to h.264/mp4 files. Am I allowed to use these converted files in a commercial project?
webm is another option, but in comparison to mp4 files, they are ...
15
votes
4answers
5k views
If I add a copyright disclaimer to my app, am I exempt of charges?
I'm creating a Pokemon Wiki app for Android with a lot of data related to Pokemon, including images, names etc. I've seen in the Google Play store a lot of apps like mine that contains ads and in-app ...
0
votes
1answer
16 views
does Iranian Filimo website give the foreign films copyright
I have bought Filimo account and think according some Iran relation problem with others world, i want to know does Iranian Filimo website give the foreign films copyright like this film ?
If not, for ...
0
votes
1answer
77 views
I plan on making an intentionally fake news site - can I *copy* headlines from other sources?
First off: this is an experiment with AI - the content I create will state that it is fake and generated news - I'm not trying to mislead anyone!
So for my 'fake news' site I plan on copying headlines ...
1
vote
0answers
45 views
Are stack traces copyrightable?
I am considering to include stack traces in teaching materials and was thus wondering whether they were copyrightable and if so, who would own the copyright and what would that entail to them and to ...
2
votes
1answer
32 views
Can I add a project to portfolio without copyrights?
Being in high school I created my first 3D game. It was basketball game in which all the models where created by me and I put all the logos in them to be as real as possible. The ball has Spalding ...
0
votes
2answers
52 views
Is ilegal use the index of a book as a guideline for make a few of youtube videos?
I want to know if is there any legal consequences if I use the contents of a book in order to make videos for youtube.
For example, I want to make videos about Python Developer Language, and I use the ...
-1
votes
2answers
66 views
Are programming language names copyrighted?
Say I want to create a programming language with some name, but there already exists another programming language with the same name. Could I get in trouble (legal or otherwise) if I create another ...
0
votes
1answer
30 views
Do countries that are not in the Berne Convention enjoy the benefits it provides?
The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, is an international agreement governing copyright, which was first accepted in Berne, ...
-1
votes
1answer
71 views
Can I monetize a Pokemon themed App in Google Store
I have created a Pokemon themed app , and I'm going to upload it to Google Store but I have some doubts. I have two versions of the app , one free and another "premium" which costs 2$ , also ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
Does copyright law apply if I download films in Iran?
I live at Iran. I would like to know if downloading films, like Hollywood films, via internet is illegal, if I don't pay money to the owner?
I'm asking because I read this:
Iran's copyright law does ...
0
votes
0answers
58 views
Risk/Information Regarding Copyright/Trademark Violation
I have previously participated in the illicit accessing of files (music, etc.) that were most likely copyrighted/trademarked/etc. as well as the distribution of modified versions of these files (...
-1
votes
0answers
72 views
If someone steals your (actively recording) camera, who owns the subsequently recorded footage?
Say I am in the middle of recording a scenic video in the United States, and someone steals the camera out of my hand, thinking I am taking pictures. They get away in their car, drive to their house, ...
0
votes
0answers
10 views
Consequences of failure to exclude something in the “limitation of claim” field on US copyright application
I'm filling out a US copyright application, and wondering what the potential consequences would be if I fail to exclude something in the "limitation of claim" field.
The work I'm registering ...
0
votes
0answers
30 views
LoRaWAN: is it allowed to write that my product is compatible with LoRaWAN even if it is not certified by LoRa Alliance?
I have a question concerning LoRaWAN protocol:
Is it allowed to write that my product is compatible with LoRaWAN even if it is not certified by LoRa Alliance?
I do not know exactly what can I write in ...
1
vote
2answers
98 views
Is it legal to download Youtube captions, perform some analytical tasks on them and then display the results on your own website?
There are many online services that analyze social media data and then display aggregate results. For instance the most frequent keywords in social media posts, etc. Is it legal to do something ...
-1
votes
0answers
32 views
Is creating software that uses an API against ToS illegal?
Lets say I have an app that is open source and also an app. It uses a website's API in a way that they don't like and is also against their ToS.
If the company asks me to take it down because it ...
0
votes
1answer
62 views
Do I have to pay taxes if I register the domain but the website income belongs to someone else?
If I am the registrar of the website domain name, meanwhile the website/business is running and registered in another country, who is obliged to pay taxes for the income of business, me as registrar ...
2
votes
1answer
50 views
Are animated GIFs Recognised as videos or images in court?
When settling legal disputes about copyrighted GIFs (or apngs webps etc) are they recognised by the court as videos or images (Or does it make no difference)?
It's worth mentioning that they are (in ...
1
vote
3answers
116 views
Derivatives of Unauthorized Derivatives & Copyright
Imagine 3 parties: A, B & C.
Party A owns all rights to image X. Image X is not in the public domain, and no explicit licenses for use to the other parties have been granted.
Party B adds some ...
1
vote
1answer
55 views
Why is digital copyright seemingly impotent compared to its physical counterpart?
I often hear on the news about patent infringements being enforced on physical products - such as different types of wrenches, machinery, and toys.
However, I cannot recall an instance where an online ...
0
votes
2answers
75 views
Is it normal for the client to own all IP for work created by a software contractor?
Usually when a contractor creates some new solution for their client it is understood that “tools of trade” used by the contractor are owned by the contractor, while any new IP created for the client ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Can information posted without a license and meant to be spread be assumed to allow commercial use?
Our organization has a cyber threat intelligence server, which we use commercially. There are a number of feeds posted by various organizations or individuals which contain things like malicious IPs, ...
1
vote
0answers
33 views
Would distributing a vocabulary list for a copyrighted work violate the copyright of the original work?
I am considering the scenario where a vocabulary list is produced for a movie or book through use of an automated program, perhaps with manual cleanup. I get the impression that the copyright status ...
2
votes
3answers
200 views
Developed initial version of website in belief contract would get signed. They backed out. Is the site mine?
The title is probably my best summary. It is similar to this other unfortunate scenario, but I ask here because of a few differences. So here are the mains:
Two months ago I sent an email to a guy on ...
1
vote
0answers
31 views
Does Canada allow the use of copyrighted materials for self study?
I was reading into the Canadian copyright law and it says that:
29: Fair dealing for the purpose of research, private study,
education, parody or satire does not infringe copyright
does this allow ...
1
vote
1answer
79 views
Stolen code in a GPL repo
Quite an odd thing has happened. A software author as released a repo under GPL 3.0 license
But inside that repo is code that the author doesn't own in any way and has no license. Now when people fork ...
2
votes
1answer
115 views
Why did the show 'Lucifer' need the rights to the DC character?
For a little bit of background since I don't expect you to watch the show:
The necessary feature of the show is that lucifer leaves hell and then runs a nightclub
The personalities and features of ...
1
vote
1answer
46 views
Adaptations of partially expired copyright in some countries
Let's say that there are 2 (hypothetical) countries with different copyright durations:
Country A has a copyright duration of Life + 70 years.
Country B has a copyright duration of Life + 50 years.
...
0
votes
0answers
33 views
Is a website for “exchanging” fan-fiction works legal?
I want to make a website where fan-fiction writers will write a story based on a prompt given by another, and said "another" will in exchange write a story based on their prompt.
In other ...
0
votes
0answers
34 views
“Shared” Image Rights on a Commissioned Work
A few months ago, me and a few friends commissioned an artist to do a logo for our website. We described the idea very thoroughly, sending them sketches of our own which we requested them to interpret ...
1
vote
1answer
87 views
Original work or derivative work if published posthumously and never previously registered?
I'm trying to determine how a literary work should be registered -- as a derivative work with two authors, or as a derivative work with me as claimant and author? Or neither? Details:
My mother wrote ...
-1
votes
1answer
24 views
Can I use a company's logo on the merch I want to advertise to them? [closed]
I am a merchandise designer.
I want to advertise conceptualized apparel/general merch designs to a company by email with the option for them to purchase it.
I want to use their current brand ie. logo ...
1
vote
1answer
22 views
How can I use a trademark name in my app title?
I am a student software developer in NY, USA. As a learning project, I created a mobile application for calculating scores of my favorite crossword board game and posted it on the famous online ...
0
votes
1answer
64 views
Can I use the name Friedrich Nietzsche as commercial application title?
Can I use the name Friedrich Nietzsche as commercial application title that will be available globally?
I know that his books are in the public domain and I can use fragments in my app but I don't ...
0
votes
0answers
29 views
References to real world services in work of fiction
Say a video game represented each in-game character with an email address. Those addresses would contain names of real-world services (Gmail, Yahoo mail, etc). I wouldn't expect that, by itself, to be ...
0
votes
1answer
20 views
Copyright Images laws
I have heard in the past that editing an image to make it significantly different than its original form will allow you to use it without worrying about copyright laws. Is this true?
0
votes
1answer
83 views
Twitter icon upside-down [closed]
If I use Twitter icon upside-down as my site favicon, will it be a copyright/trademark violation?
I have copywriting slogan "Down with Twitter" among others on my site.
1
vote
1answer
105 views
Is it legal to cut a used designer clothing found at a thrift shop and remake it into a bean bag with the original logo on it and sell it
What if made out of ruined pieces of designer clothing, a new piece of clothing like a bag and sell it. As recycled clothing. Is this a legal and viable business strategy, or would this infringe upon ...
3
votes
3answers
137 views
Why is it legal for public funded researchers to transfer their paper ownership to private publishers?
Maybe it belongs to the academia forum, but I have never understood why public funded researchers can transfer their paper ownership to private publishers. We, the taxpayers, fully pay for the ...
0
votes
1answer
85 views
How can Nintendo cartoon Captain N use video game characters owned by different companies without those companies appearing in the show's copyright?
Captain N was a late 80s cartoon which uses characters and settings from several games that are playable on the Nintendo Entertainment System console. Some of these are Nintendo owned, but there is a ...
-2
votes
1answer
98 views
Where is the section of the law for USA that talks about ROMs?
Where can I find what the law says about obtaining video game ROMs (as in downloading them from online sources)? When I tried googling all I found were people telling what the law says but the answers ...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
What is the Copyright situation with Foreign games like Mahjong?
I've been working on a pc/mobile game that deals with various party games, and I'm hesitant to start adding in any well known games like Mahjong or Shogi because I am unable to find any concrete ...
