Copyrights on the Internet

By: Molly Walker

As the Internet continues to grow, copyright laws become more and more important for the protection of both creators and users of works on the World Wide Web. It is important for everyone who accesses material on the Internet to know and understand the copyright laws and how they apply to the Internet to avoid running the risk of a lawsuit. Because the Internet is new and still rather undefined in legal terms, many problems arise when the original copyright laws are applied to it. Everyone is searching for a solution to this raging controversy, including private ‘surfers,’ corporate managers, and even the governments of many different countries. Utilization of copyright laws is becoming an important issue concerning everyone who uses the Internet.
Copyright laws are the product of the Copyright Act of 1976. When an original work fits under the criteria to be copyrighted, the owner of this copyright has certain exclusive rights. These include the ability to reproduce his works, and to display his work publicly. These exclusive rights, however, are contingent upon restrictions such as time limits and the laws of ‘fair use.’ Fair use is a law that makes reproduction legal in certain cases. For instance, if it is used for educational purposes, and does not hurt the associated market, it is legal to reproduce without consent of the author. There are four factors used to determine fair use. They are:
1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. The nature of the copyrighted work;
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work.(1)

Each of these factors is looked at when a copyright lawsuit is brought to court. The last factor is usually considered the most important. The Copyright Act helps to both protect the author, and the user from unnecessary legal action.

The Copyright Act says, essentially, that any work that is published is also copyrighted. However, if someone wishes to file suit on these grounds, the only compensation given will be that of the monetary value of the work itself, and will not include statutory damages. According to Celeste Perri, “Statutory damages are often far more valuable than actual damages.” In order to collect statutory damages, a copyright must be registered with the copyright office.

These guidelines seem pretty clear cut. The Internet, though, puts a new twist on copyright laws. There are too many people who are building private web pages who don’t know that what they’re doing can get them into legal trouble. Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who have been good friends since High School, are in court because of Microsoft’s supposed misuse of Ticketmaster’s name and links. It may sound ludicrous, but this kind of thing can happen to anyone. Anyone who is putting anything on the web is subject to accusations of trademark misuse, copyright infringement, invasion off privacy, and libel. Personal web pages often contain clip-art that is used without the consent of the author. The designers of these pages do not stop to think what could happen if the author suddenly decided to claim his copyright. It is also important for anyone building a page to know that any mention to a business should legally be followed with the proper trademark notice. There are many rules and regulations concerning copyrighting. While the Internet draws up it’s own copyrighting guidelines, it is important to be exceedingly careful about what is free and what is protected.

Since no revisions of the copyright laws have been made for the Internet, users are forced to abide by rules that can be very problematic. The main problem is how to enforce them. Copyright laws have always been rather hard to enforce, but not impossible. Now, though, technology gives rise to new obstacles. There is no way to tell an original from a copy, because digital copies are made with absolutely no loss of quality. The fact that it does not cost any valid amount of money makes pirating work even more tempting, and the ability to be completely anonymous provides a low risk operation. It is basically effortless to take copyrighted material off the Internet. It is likely that any new copyright restrictions will be ignored, and a type of ‘black market’ will form. Many people already think that ‘fair use’ laws are too strict when concerning the Internet. They feel that stricter laws will result in more controversy, and cause greater confusion. These people argue that there is no time to run around getting permission for everything they use, and that most violations are for personal use or for sending to friends.

Another major problem with enforcing copyright laws on the Internet is the fact that most of the people who violate them do not realize that what they are doing is wrong. Corporations hire professionals to build their pages. These professionals understand the copyrighting laws and make it a point to follow them to the best of their ability. It is the private web sites that end up using copyrighted artwork most often. This means that it is average people who know little or nothing about the politics of copyrighting who end up violating the law. Though there are people who will steal copyrighted material just to show what they can get away with, most have no wish to do anything illegal, but simply don not know any better.

There is a raging controversy about how to solve these problems. Some believe that a new or revised copyright law should be made to include specific laws for this new technology. The governments of many countries have already met and proposed some such revisions. There was a meeting of over 800 delegates in Switzerland to decide what to do. Their answer, though, is very general, and does not include strict regulations. Critics of government involvement say that the government will only make the laws more confusing, and impose on the rights of its people. They also say that pirating material can work out for the better for some companies, turning it into free advertising.

Others think that the answer is a computer program that will protect copyrighted material by setting an encryption that would scramble codes or track the users. Some companies are developing elaborate programs to do just this. There are problems with this too. Such technology can be very expensive, invade rightful privacy, and will only last until someone is able to figure out how to hack into it.

Andrew Coyne suggested, "using the original product merely as a spring board to an ongoing relationship between buyer and seller." For example, some software developers avoid ‘stealing’ by giving free upgrades to those with proof that they have a licensed copy. This would take a great deal of organization on the part of the corporations, but it could be done. It does not, however, help to protect the works of those that are not part of a corporation, and do not have the ability to offer rewards for legal use.

Right now, people are taking actions. They are going to court like Microsoft and Ticketmaster. The lawsuits are flying. There is a new group of on-line experts referred to as "Internet Police" who are hired by corporations to stop the pirating of their logos, music, and software. Even the Justice department and the FBI have created such "police." Perhaps these are a good idea for someone who is extremely concerned about their works. For most, however, it doesn’t have to come to that. Many people have suggestions about how to protect works on the Internet. Most agree that anything posted on the Internet will, whether it is copyrighted or not, be subject to piracy. The logical thing to do, then, would be to avoid posting anything of value on the Internet. There is other practical advice to help prevent works from being stolen. Registering with the copyright office is always a good idea. So is making sure that people know that the work is copyrighted. Ignorance should not be an excuse for people to steal copyrighted material. It is best for the protection of copyrighted material to be in the hands of the owner of that copyright. That is, at least until a more universal solution is presented.

It is important to have a protection for original works. The Copyright Act has always been a good way to ensure this protection. Recently, though, the creation of the Internet has made enforcing the copyright laws difficult. While the Internet is meant to be a worldwide source of information, many of its users are concerned about their works being unfairly stolen and copied. Many people are looking into ways to prevent this copying, such as revising the law or making programs to encode copyrighted materials. Each idea, though, has problems, and it may be a while before there is a good solution. In the meantime, there are more practical steps to take to protect works. While the battle for more effective copyright laws continues, most people are encouraged to protect their works on their own.

Citations:

Fank Hayes: Do yourself a favor: befriend a leagle eagle. (ticketmaster sues Microsoft

for inapppropriate Web Links). Computerworld, May 29, 1997 v31 n19 p113(1).

Deborah Shapely: Corporate Web Police hunt down E-Pirates (industry Trend or Event).

The New York Times, May 19, 1997 v146 pC5(L) col 1 (21 col in).

Robert S. Weiner: Copyright in a digital age: practical guidance for information

professionals in the midst of leagle uncertainty. Online, May-June 1997 v21 n3 p97(6).

Eric Schlachter: The intellectual property rennaissance in cyberspace: why copyright

law could be unimportant on the Internet. Berkeley Technology Law Journal, Spring 1997 12 n1 p15-51.

Hoag Levins: New online copyright standards. (Agreed to at United Nations' World

Intellectual Property Organization conference). Editor and Publisher, Jan 11, 1997 v130 n2 p35(1).

Jodi B. Cohen: Cyberspace is like the wild west for copyright law. (fair use).

Editor and Publisher, Dec. 21, 1996 v129 n51 p22(2).

Andrew Coyne: Piracy on the electronic Seas. (intellectual property rights)(reprinted

from The Globe and Mail, Oct. 1, 1994)(Who's in charge Here? The High-Tech Challenge)(Cover Story). World Press Review, April 1995 v42 n4 p9(2).

John C. Dvorak: Are you an electronic criminal? (cloumn). PC Magazine,

Oct. 25, 1994 v13 n18 p93(1).

Celeste Perri: Use Protection! The politics of copyrighting in the

digital age. n. pag. Online. Internet. 9 Oct 1997 Available: http://netspace.org/indy/issues/11-02-95/features3.htm

Bryan Dale: Copyright on the Internet. Barrister and Solicitor. Online.

Internet. 9 Oct 1997 Available: http://bdale.com/copynet.html