Copyright Laws
What is Copyright Laws?
Copyright laws protect the work of authors, artists, and other creators by giving them the exclusive right to control how their work is used. These laws are designed to encourage creativity and protect the investments that creators make in their work. Copyright holders can choose to sell or license their work, or they can choose to keep it all to themselves. When someone violates a copyright, they can be sued for damages.
If you create something original, you can copyright it. Copyright law also gives authors the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, and displays their work. This means that if you want to use someone else's copyrighted work, you need to get permission from the copyright holder. Lastly, copyright law is governed by the Copyright Act of 1976. This Act gives copyright holders the exclusive right to their work for a set period of time. After that time, the work enters the public domain and anyone can use it.
Copyright Laws Resources
Antitrust Laws and Open Source Software Project Management and Participation (LFC105)
Open source projects typically bring together employees of multiple companies, many of whom are likely to be competitors. While the result is intended to be a public good, the setting also provides the opportunity for the inadvertent (or deliberate) violation of laws relating to antitrust and competition laws. Since penalties for both individuals and their employers can be severe, it’s important that all those involved in OSS development have an understanding of the rules that apply.
Copyright for Educators & Librarians
About this Course Fear and uncertainty about copyright law often plagues educators and sometimes prevents creative teaching. This course is a professional development opportunity designed to provide a basic introduction to US copyright law and to em...
Copyright for Multimedia
About this Course Copyright questions about different formats (data, images, music and video) can be especially difficult. Sometimes the law specifically distinguishes between these different formats, and in most cases there are media-specific consi...
Introduction to Open Source License Compliance Management (LFC193)
Learn the basic concepts and approaches needed for an open source compliance program.
Open Source Licensing Basics for Software Developers (LFC191)
Because open source is now found everywhere software exists, a good working knowledge of open source licensing and compliance is critical. This course is designed to teach software developers and producers why it is important to add copyrights and licenses to their code, as well as how to do so.