The Internet makes copying photographs, artwork, and
words easy, since a relatively unsophisticated user can just browse the
web saving or copying nearly anything that suits his fancy. As an
e-business owner you’ll want to both protect your photographs and,
conversely, ensure that your employees are not taking protected work of
others. After all, a copyright violation could cost thousands of dollars
in legal fees, time, forced subscription fees, and potential fines.
U.S.
copyright protection extends to all forms of “expression” including
software, written papers, charts, digital files, music, video, and
presentations. This protection begins the moment a work is “fixed in a
tangible medium of expression,” and copyrights are federally enforced.
Generally, ideas, short phrases, facts, slogans, and useful articles are
not copyright protected, but most everything else is.
The owner of a copyright protected work enjoys six exclusive rights:
- The right to reproduce the work.
- The right to prepare derivative works based on the original.
- The right to distribute copies to the public.
- The right to perform the work publicly.
- The right to display the work publicly.
- The rights to copy, publicly distribute, and prepare derivative works that are digital audio sound recordings.
The
owner of the copyright protected material can control who copies the
work, how much will be charged for copies, and whether or not to allow
the public to use or make derivative works of the original.
Many
e-business owners and their employees operate under the false belief
that if they find something on the Internet, they have a right to use it
for free. There is no distinction as to whether the website is a
commercial or non-commercial website, the content on the website still
enjoys copyright protection and permission may be needed to use the
content.
Imagine an online toy store selling action figures. The
store’s owner hires a professional photographer to take dozens of
compelling product shots of the action figures, and then posts those
images online. A competitor, who sells the same brand of action figures,
see the photos, copies them, and uploads them to her site. This action
is theft, and is punishable under copyright law.
Protect Your Site
Relatively
inexpensive software is available that allows a copyright owner to
search the Internet and see if his content is being used illegally by
another website. Additionally, many websites put digital tags on their
pictures which allow them to track the use of the image. And sometimes,
just placing a copyright symbol and date on the work is enough.
The Penalties for Violating Copyright Law
The penalties for violating copyright law can be severe with the following civil infringement damages available:
- Actual damages (the amount you would have to pay to license the material from the copyright owner).
- Statutory damages of $750-$30,000 per work.
- If the violation was willful—up to $150,000 per work.
- At the court’s discretion, attorney fees.
- Embarrassment.
What is Allowed Under the Law
It
is permissible to copy a link to a website and email the link to
someone without violating copyright law as you are not copying anything
other than the Universal Resource Locator (“URL”). In some instances it
may also be permissible to use portions or all of the copyright material
under a doctrine called “fair use”. However, keep in mind that in order
to utilize the defense of fair use you must first admit to using the
copyright protected work and thus if your defense of fair use fails,
your case is lost.
Fair use of a copyrighted work means that one
can copy or post that work for purposes such as criticism, comment, news
reporting, teaching, scholarship or research. It should be noted that
this list of purposes is not exclusive, but any fair use analysis will
need to look at four factors. These are (1) the purpose and character of
the use, (2) the type of work copied, (3) the amount and substantiality
of the portion copied as compared to the original work, and (4) the
effect of the copying on the market for the copyrighted work. These
factors are all considered in any given case and no formula exists for
weighing them.
Ultimately in close cases it can come down to a
judgment call. In all cases where there is any degree of doubt, it is
strongly recommended that you not engage in any copying and seek legal
advice before doing so. It is better to purchase photographs or take
your own than copying those images from the web. Some businesses may
also sign contracts with various organizations which allow them to copy
protected work or perhaps a manufacturer can grant permission to use
their product images on an ecommerce site. In instances where a contract
or agreement exits, terms should be followed exactly.
In today’s
digital age, e-business owners or their employees may intentionally or
unintentionally violate the copyright of another with more ease. This
may leave the organization vicariously liable for the employee’s actions
and cost a great deal of time and money. http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/841-Copyright-Law-for-Ecommerce-Merchants
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