How Copyright Affects A Writer's Original Work

Plagiarism is when you copy someone else’s work whether it be research, ideas, or photos, and say

Plagiarism occurs when a student attempts to pass off as their own work, the work of another, without any acknowledgement as to its authorship or source.

One of the most common, yet controversial, issues of First Amendment law is the subject of copyright and infringement. Although the subject may not seem major at first, many different issues and controversies have risen and become more common than ever over the years. The issues that have become pertinent to this subject are endless, including trademark infringement, piracy, theft, fraud, plagiarism, and many more. With the coming of age and advancement of technology, these cases have become more common and appear more often than ever before. Government officials have always been strict about copyright rulings, and have tried to deliver fair and just rulings for both parties involved under First Amendment rules. Because the owner’s work and material is protected under the First Amendment, it gets tricky when involving another party that can claim the same work of art. In short, the definition of copyright has always been cut and dry: allowing owners of creative works the right to control and profit from their creations. It is basically recognized as a form of property ownership.

Copyright is any expression recorded in any physical form, published or unpublished in any medium whether it is music, books, artworks or newspaper articles. Federal publications, facts and ideas are not copyrighted (www.honolulu.hawaii.edu). The very first copyright law that was established was known as the Statute of Anne, which was authorized in England in 1710 (history of copyright, 2005). The newly founded constitution allowed secure rights to its creators. An act very similar to the Statute of Anne was passed by congress in 1790 as the first American copyright law (history of copyright, 2005). As more and more books were produced and were becoming more accessible domestically and internationally in Europe and North America, it became

The second approach to copyright is the democratic approach. All works of art are ideas built on a foundation of other ideas. The democratic approach advocates that intellectual property belongs to the society and should be available for the general good of the public. If the particular usage is intended to derive financial benefit or any other business-related benefits, it is considered inappropriate usage. If the utilization of factual work were more usable than the use of someone’s creative work, then that would not be fair use. There is no specified edge to the amount of quoted work that can be called “fair use.” The courts exercise common sense to determine if it was too much. If the utilization of the material created market or stirred a competition, and if the fair use diminishes demand for the original product, it is not considered as appropriate use (Crews, 1993).

Plagiarism is when you copy someone else’s work. It is also when you take credit for someone else’s work that is not yours. You can be fined for plagiarism. It is a felony. So don’t get caught plagiarizing.

In 1909, the United States government passed a measure that would allow individuals to make a legal claim over their own intellectual property. Meaning that individuals who own intellectual property, which is considered works, are given exclusive rights to the materials they produce. Copyright law has been creates an environment that owners of the materials or works grant others who do not own that work permission to use it for their own needs (Copyright, n.d.). The intent of Title 17 the Copyright law, is that even though an owner has rights over their work, in some specific instance a non-owner may be able to copy, repeat, or use material that is not their own. This action is called fair use; which is found in Section 107 of Title 17.

1976 The United States Copyright Act was revised from the prior act. In short terms this new revision states the basis of the Copyright Law, and changed the doctrine of “fair use”, and copyrights adopted post author/creators death.[7]

How long does the copyright on an original work last? It takes about 70 years for original work to last.

A copyright gives the originator of literary, artistic, or music works the right to perform, publish, record, or print them. This can include sound recordings, paintings, photographs, films, melodies, television, radio broadcasts, cable programs, performances, and even codes to computer programs (Legal Information Institute). Since copyrights cover several different types of materials, the duration varies depending on what work is being protected. According to the Copyright Act of 1976, musical, artistic, and literary works created after January 1, 1978 have copyrights that last 70 years after the author has passed away, 95 years after publication, or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first (United States Copyright Office, 2011). However, the published editions of these works have copyrights that last 25 years after being first published. Broadcast and cable programs, on the other hand, have a copyright duration of 50 years after being created

Plagiarism is a act of imprinting another person's writing, conversation, or even ideas. This even includes the information one gets from WebPages, the published papers online and even articles

In Section 107 of the US copyright law provide 4 factors that need to be considered

“The copyright allows the holder to control the reproduction, display, distribution, and performance of a protected work,” (Corley, Moorehead,, Reed, & Shedd, 2004).

These are: Copying, presenting a mixture of their own and somebody else’s ideas and paraphrasing another individuals work without acknowledging their source.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s words or other creative product as your own. Note that plagiarism can also be illegal if it violates a copyright, which is a form of legal protection for the expression of creative ideas.