65
votes
Accepted
If I add a copyright disclaimer to my app, am I exempt of charges?
Imagine if the answer was a simple yes: adding a disclaimer was enough to exempt you from any and all copyright and trademark law suits. If that was the case, there would be no point in copyright or ...
- 818
37
votes
Accepted
Can I host copyrighted content until I get a DMCA notice?
You may at your peril.
The safe harbor provision in 17 USC 512 does not provide absolute immunity to service providers, that immunity is only available (c)(1)
if the service provider—(A)...(ii) in ...
- 210k
34
votes
Accepted
Copying an existing HTML page and use it, is that against any copyright law?
There doesn't need to be any copyright claim for there to be copyright protection. The protection is given automatically whenever someone authors a work.
If you make money off of your improved ...
- 6,131
32
votes
Can I host copyrighted content until I get a DMCA notice?
No. That only works if you host other users' content...
... and on a large enough scale that you can believably say you had no idea that content was on your site.
It does not help you if you were the ...
23
votes
If I add a copyright disclaimer to my app, am I exempt of charges?
"No infringement intended" is meaningless. One of these things is true:
The copy isn't an infringement.
The copy is an infringement, and the responsible person knows it.
The copy is an ...
- 35.1k
21
votes
Fair Use and DMCA
Twitter don’t have to host your account
UMG’s and Sony’s business is probably more important to Twitter than yours is. It seems Twitter have made a commercial decision to close your account down. They ...
- 198k
20
votes
Do copyright notices need to be placed at the beginning of a file?
Under the Berne Convention, a copyright notice is not required at all, although using one is good practice. Using one usually eliminates the claimed status of "innocent infringement", which, if found ...
- 113k
20
votes
How does copyrights work for mobile/web applications?
A fundamental principle of copyright law is that protection is only afforded to the concrete expression, and not the abstract idea. Therefore, if you write a sort program, what is protected is "...
- 210k
16
votes
Are new works without a copyright notice automatically copyrighted under the Berne Convention?
Copyright notice is not relevant to having a Copyright. 1
Copyright starts to exist the moment a work is created. When the pen touches the paper the first time or the hammer strikes the block to ...
- 33.7k
16
votes
How does copyrights work for mobile/web applications?
If the developer sold exclusive rights to their code, their customer has grounds to sue.
If the developer licensed their code non-exclusively, there isn't grounds.
Normally, a contract developer will ...
14
votes
Accepted
What relevance does the stated year have in online copyright claims?
Almost none. It is a legacy of the era when copyright protection was a function of year of publication. Including it is appropriate, however, to meet the formal requirements for a legal notice of ...
- 195k
12
votes
If I add a copyright disclaimer to my app, am I exempt of charges?
Neither the disclaimer nor the ads make any real difference. Using Nintendo-copyright images is potentially copyright infringement. Regardless of whether you earn money for it or put a disclaimer ...
- 1,127
12
votes
Accepted
In a copyright statement, should the year or copyright holder go first?
In the US, the relevant law is 17 USC 401 which provides in relevant part:
(a) General Provisions.—Whenever a work protected under this title is published in the United States or elsewhere by ...
- 113k
11
votes
Can I host copyrighted content until I get a DMCA notice?
ONLY if you are the host
As long as you are just the host, you can use the DMCA as your defense - if you follow all rules under the DMCA. Then you technically don't have to know what your users do, ...
- 33.7k
10
votes
Are new works without a copyright notice automatically copyrighted under the Berne Convention?
Yes, although it was not always so
The answer by Trish is quite correct, in current law copyright is automatic when any protectable work is "fixed in tangible form" (which includes a ...
- 113k
10
votes
Benefits of registering copyright - Should I register or not?
Registering your copyright provides official proof of ownership, see Copyright Act, §53ff. It is not mandatory since you can use other means to argue that you own the copyright, but in case you want ...
- 210k
9
votes
Can I monetize a Pokemon themed App in Google Store
Your app is a simple case of copyright infringement. All the Pokémon are copyrighted, the lettering and names are also protect by trademarks.
Trying to claim fair use will be outright impossible: you'...
- 33.7k
9
votes
Accepted
Find out if "Further reproduction prohibited without permission" document is original
It does not matter whether the document is authentic, because it is true, by law. Under copyright law, you must have permission of the copyright holder to copy any protected work (original creative ...
- 210k
6
votes
Copying an existing HTML page and use it, is that against any copyright law?
If you copy and republish the page, it's the same as copying and republishing any copyrighted work. There's no difference for "online copyright".
Automatic copyright isn't a thing everywhere. (...
- 177
6
votes
If I add a copyright disclaimer to my app, am I exempt of charges?
That disclaimer really doesn't do much other than make it clear that what you're doing is not official. It isn't going to protect you. Using a company's intellectual property without their permission ...
- 191
6
votes
Accepted
Would hiding a footer (with copyright information) on a website template be legal?
You seem to assume that copyrights require paperwork such as registration. This is wrong, copyright is automatic. And it prevents the downloader from making the sort of change that you suggest. In ...
- 5,508
6
votes
Find out if "Further reproduction prohibited without permission" document is original
Trick question: you can't read the single original copy "legally", because it's stored on a hard disk in a datacenter and you have to make multiple copies of it to even get it to your ...
- 1,127
6
votes
What does it mean to 'reserve' a right?
To "reserve one's rights" is to make it clear that some other action is not intended to give the rights up. Typically, it has no legal effect but is used out of caution, to avoid ...
- 8,631
5
votes
Accepted
What are the legal implications of providing software only with a copyright notice?
What are exactly the legal consequences of "All rights reserved"?
Almost none. You have to explicitly grant copyright rights. You don't even need the Copyright notice for them to apply. My "almost"...
5
votes
Fair Use and DMCA
EditVideoBot is an automated program that automatically edits videos based on commands provided by other Twitter users that mention the account - I am providing the service, other people operate and ...
- 3,513
5
votes
Find out if "Further reproduction prohibited without permission" document is original
Even if someone already violated the direction not to make further copies, that does not make it unlawful to read the document. Just as if someone makes and sells a pirate copy of a book, it is not ...
- 113k
4
votes
Accepted
Can I use the copyright symbol and rights statement if I haven't registered the copyright?
Copyrights
You may use the circle c mark (c) normally with a year, the name of the author of the work and possibly the words "all right reserved" without any legal permission.
This gives you ...
- 195k
4
votes
Accepted
Can copyright of a book be extended by the authors relatives?
Copyright in the US has changed
Prior to 1978 copyright lasted 28 years and could be renewed for another 28 (hence 1936 and 1964).
Anything that was still under copyright then now has copyright for ...
- 198k
4
votes
Copyright notices: a team or project declared as copyright holder
united-states
In US law the elements of a copyright notice are 1) the copyright symbol or the word "copyright or the abbreviation "copyr"; 2) the year of publication or creation; and 3) the name of ...
- 113k
4
votes
How can Nintendo cartoon Captain N use video game characters owned by different companies without those companies appearing in the show's copyright?
Attribution is not a legal requirement
If company A owns IP (copyright and trademarks in this case), they can licence it to company N on whatever terms are mutually acceptable. They may require ...
- 198k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible