States cannot enact their own laws to protect the same rights as the rights provided by the Copyright Act. For example, a state cannot pass a law to extend copyright protection on works in the state beyond the term of protection given by the Copyright Act. State "copyright" laws exist, but they are limited to works that cannot be protected under federal copyright law. (Requirements for federal protection are discussed in "Standards," later in these materials.)
Copyright law is important for multimedia developers and publishers for two reasons
Original multimedia works are protected by copyright. The Copyright Act's exclusive rights provision gives developers and publishers the right to control unauthorized exploitation of their works.
Multimedia works are created by combining "content" - music, text, graphics, illustrations, photographs, software - that is protected under copyright law. Developers and publishers must avoid infringing copyrights owned by others.
Types of Works Protected by Copyright
- Literary works. Novels, nonfiction prose, poetry, newspaper articles and newspapers, magazine articles and magazines, computer software, software documentation and manuals, training manuals, manuals, catalogs, brochures, ads (text), and compilations such as business directories
- Musical works. Songs, advertising jingles, and instrumentals.
- Dramatic works. Plays, operas, and skits.
- Pantomimes and choreographic works. Ballets, modern dance, jazz dance, and mime works.
- Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works. Photographs, posters, maps, paintings, drawings, graphic art, display ads, cartoon strips and cartoon characters, stuffed animals, statues, paintings, and works of fine art.
- Motion pictures and other audiovisual works. Movies, documentaries, travelogues, training films and videos, television shows, television ads, and interactive multimedia works.
- Sound recordings. Recordings of music, sounds, or words.
- Architectural works. Building designs, whether in the form of architectural plans, drawings, or the constructed building itself
PATENTS
- A patent is an exclusive right given by law to inventors to make use of, and
exploit, their inventions for a limited period of time. By granting the inventor
a temporary monopoly in exchange for a full description of how to perform the
invention, patents play a key role in developing industry around the
world.
- background information (the 'state of the art')
- the nature of any technical problems solved by the invention
- a detailed description of the invention and how it works
- illustrations of the invention where appropriate. Patent protection in a given country does not extend to other countries -inventors must file an application in each territory where they want their patent to be effective. To maintain the validity of a patent, the owner needs to pay fees to each appropriate patent authority; failure to do so causes the patent rights to lapse. Most countries also require that the patent is "worked." This means that the protected invention is put to commercial use, within a specified period of time
Once the owner of an invention has been granted a patent in any particular country, they then have the legal authority to exclude others from making, using, or selling the claimed invention in that country without their consent, for a fixed period of time. In this way, inventors can prevent others from benefiting from their ingenuity and, ultimately, sharing in profits from the invention, without their permission. In return for these ownership rights, the applicant must make public the complete details of the patented invention. These include
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