47
votes
Accepted
Is one free from legal responsibility if the intellectual property has passed the plagiarism check software?
None of the methods suggested protect Bob from a copyright or trademark infringement claim.
These methods may protect Bob from a claim that Bob is an intentional infringing party, as opposed to being ...
- 195k
40
votes
Who owns copyright of a photo taken by a camera after the timer is set to 10 seconds?
To the extent that the photograph is an expression of the operator's originality (e.g. framing, subject, angles, camera settings, etc.) it is the operator who has the best claim to copyright. Whether ...
- 43.6k
37
votes
Can Meta create a Twitter clone?
More generally, can anyone just copy an existing website (without
copying the code or images)?
Yes.
Could I make a website that lets people post pictures like Instagram
but call it MyPics?
Yes.
In ...
- 195k
37
votes
Accepted
Is it legal for a train company to create an art gallery using photographs of the graffiti on their locomotives and train cars?
Copyright law doesn't say the art isn't copyrighted if it was made unlawfully.
It seems the art can be copyrighted and the act of making it can be a criminal offence.
I'm not aware of any such ...
- 14.9k
35
votes
Accepted
What stops stolen software from offering a valid license?
I've never seen a license agreement like this make that license conditional on having actually paid for the software.
Careful reading of license agreements shows that this isn't accurate. Commercial ...
- 2,693
33
votes
Accepted
If we use a generative AI to generate original images, can we use these images in a product that we sell?
Per a decision of the US Copyright Office last month, AI generated images are not subject to copyright. That means you can use the generated images for any purpose you want1, but so can anyone else. ...
- 655
33
votes
Why do blatant copyright infringements not get prosecuted?
You are wrong that they never get into legal trouble. It isn't terribly common but it certainly happens to those that get relatively prominent.
Many of the folks doing the copyright infringement are ...
- 1,686
32
votes
Are you allowed to solve an exercise from a book more than seven times?
You can make as many "manual copies" of math homework for yourself as you like.
The seemingly arbitrary number of "7" came into being because with the invention and popularity of ...
- 5,990
31
votes
Is it legal for a train company to create an art gallery using photographs of the graffiti on their locomotives and train cars?
No
You are conflating two different ownership concepts: the art in which the copyright exists, and the artwork that is the expression of the art (my terminology).
The artist owns the art, the train ...
- 198k
30
votes
Who own the copyright - the artist or the subject in the drawing?
The artist is always the initial owner of the copyright unless, under US law, the artist was hired to do the drawing under circumstances which make it a "work made for hire". This requires a ...
- 113k
29
votes
Who owns copyright of a photo taken by a camera after the timer is set to 10 seconds?
The camera itself is a machine, the timer is a functional mode of the machine. The camera also has other functional modes that often factor into the process of taking a photograph, including autofocus,...
- 3,587
27
votes
Is it legal to intentionally wait before filing a copyright lawsuit to maximize profits?
Equitable remedies such as disgorgement (recovery of profits) are typically subject to equitable bars to recovery such as laches. Laches reflects the maxim that "equity aids the vigilant and not ...
- 43.6k
26
votes
Is a copyright claim diminished by an owner's refusal to publish?
When you own something, you get to decide what you do with it
There is no obligation to make a copyrighted work available and the fact that it isn’t is not a defence to a copyright infringement.
...
- 198k
25
votes
Does copyright no longer apply if one cannot find the owner?
No, John may not lawfully publish such a book in such a way
What John wants to do is not lawful. It would infringe on the copyright on both the 1940 original, and on the 1955 translation. Both of ...
- 113k
25
votes
Copyright issues when journal is defunct
Factual assumptions
ohwilleke's answer is entirely correct. However, it makes factual assumptions based on the standard meaning of "journal" and "author", which I believe to be ...
- 251
25
votes
What is the legal distinction between watching a YouTube video in a browser and downloading it for personal use?
Although you aren't interested in the TOS, you should be. You are not allowed to make any copy of other people's stuff without permission. The TOS is how you get permission. First, the author uploads ...
- 210k
25
votes
What is the law on scanning pages from a copyright book for a friend?
It should not surprise you that copyright protects the right to (among other things) make copies. There are limited exceptions that are considered "fair use", like if you reproduce a limited ...
- 4,333
22
votes
Accepted
Are Windows activation tools illegal?
If the tool circumvents Windows' copy protection (which is a computer question, not a legal one, but I cannot imagine a circumstance in which this isn't access-circumvention), then it is a violation ...
- 210k
22
votes
Accepted
Is voice copyrightable after death?
The characteristics of an individual's voice are not subject to copyright protection. A recording of someone's voice is, or may be, but it is the audio recording that is protected by copyright; the ...
- 35.1k
21
votes
What stops stolen software from offering a valid license?
A computer can’t enter into a contract
A EULA is a contract between the software company (not the computer) and the end user. If the software is obtained in a manner authorized by the publisher, then ...
- 4,467
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
20
votes
Why is Star Wars a copyright issue but a MLB team is not?
From the mention of a MLB shirt, I am going to assume the OP is located in the united-states.
Logos are (in general) copyrightable
Anything with a modicum of creative input is by default copyrighted. ...
- 1,449
20
votes
Can artists file for plagiarism if their art is used in AI models to make AI art, given that there is proof they're the authors of their work?
"Plagiarism" is an academic concept, not a legal one
Plagiarising the work of another without attribution is academic misconduct in every reputable academic facility and can lead to ...
- 198k
19
votes
Accepted
Is there a copyright issue for TikTok or YouTube users who upload a short film on the app?
No, one cannot safely assume that because some people have done a thing without being sued, that it is OK to do a similar thing and no suit is possible.
It is possible that people who upload a video, ...
- 113k
19
votes
Accepted
Legality of Using Unofficial API
If the app (and the service accessed from the app) truly doesn't have any EULA, ToS, or license agreement, to include restrictions on reverse engineering, you can probably create an alternate front ...
- 668
18
votes
Accepted
Can my music player app have the same name as a musician band? It's common words
This is a trademark question, not a copyright question.
The core ultimate legal question is whether the music app name creates a reasonable probability of confusion, for a typical consumer of the ...
- 195k
17
votes
Accepted
Copyright on commercial image from the 1930s (UK)
The modern rule in the UK is that copyright lasts until the end of the calendar year following 70 years after the death of the author. So if the author died in or later than 1953, it would be under ...
- 4,921
17
votes
Can Meta create a Twitter clone?
Copyright applies to creative expressions, not abstract ideas. Copying the general functionality of an application is not a copyright violation. Only copying the code, art assets etc. is.
However, ...
- 7,336
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 ...
16
votes
Is a copyright claim diminished by an owner's refusal to publish?
In the contrary: Copyright can be strengthened by not publishing
Unpublished works are protected the same as published works and usually, that is the author's death+70 years. In some cases - ...
- 33.8k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible