Copyright is something that is granted to an individual, group of people, an organisation or company to protect its work. The protection granted can be the rights to copy, distribute and adapt woks, and anyone else that wants to use the works in this way will have to seek permission from the copyright holders.
Whenever something is created it is automatically copyrighted to the original creator.
If I were to draw a picture, or create a game, then I would automatically hold the copyright, and no one else would be able to legally copy or alter this without my permission.
Sometimes the copyright can be passed onto another party. This is common in the music industry whereby some musicians and bands will have contracts that grant copyright control to their publishers, whilst others will retain full copyright control, and this depends on what contracts they have signed to begin with.
2. What are the three 'moral rights'?
The three 'moral rights' in copyright are:
- The right of attribution - Whoever has created the work has the right to be identified and creditied as such.Where the work is used/shown/displayed in a performance or otherwise, then it is the right of the creator to be recognised for their work.
- The right of integrity - The work is not allowed to be modified or changed in any way without the consent of the creator/copyright holder. This is to protect the creator, by only allowing the works to be shown/used in a manner that they see fit. A musician may allow a sample of their song to be used in some situations, but not others. For example, a release may be granted for a sample to be used within a commercial advertisment, but not in another song by a different artist, or vice-versa.
- False attribution - No one is allowed to use the works and make any attempt to pass it off as their own works. This protects the creator by allowing them to have the recognition deserved to them, and is to stop others from effectively 'stealing' and claiming ownership of their creative works.
3. How might copyright affect you and your work with interactive media?
Copyright is something that has to be considered carefully, especially in interactive media. This is so, because it is now so easy to source media from the internet, often without any clear identification of its copyright status. A picture or graphic that has been downloaded and used on a website that you have published may infringe on someone elses copyright, and this is why it is important to at least try and find out whether anything that you use is copyrighted, or try to contact the original author/creator/copyright owner and ask for permission. Whenever the copyright symbol is seen, there can be a misconception that it is a no-go area and the works shouldn't be touched. However, if you were to contact the author/copyright holder you may be surprised to find permission will be granted. This is all relative of course, and you may be more likely to be granted permission for 'smaller' works, or those considered a lesser value than the those from large companies or renowned individuals.
4. Do you think illegal downloading is morally right or wrong? Justify your position.
In the eyes of the law illegal downloading is certainly wrong, but on a moral level, people may have differing opinions. Personally, I think illegal downloading is morally wrong, as there has to be some way of rewarding creators for their work, and downloading for free may well be depriving them of this. That said, it is now so easy and accessable to download content for free, you could argue that is has become normal practice. In the longer term, I think that in this internet age, there needs to be a new model. Whether this would be similar to the current model of consumer payment, or whether things should move to a more 'paid-for-by-advertising' based model I don't know, but it would seem likely that somehow the model needs to change to suit the technology/culture.
5. What does Creative Commons do?
Creative Commons is like an intermediary of copyright. It allows creators to be more specific about the ways in which their works can, or can't be used. It effectivelty allows creators to make their own rules when it comes to use of their works. For example, a license could be granted that would allow anyone to modify their works as they see fit, but that they must attribute the original creator. Or, they may be allowed to modify works, which once modified, can be attributed to the person who has made the change, without attributing the original creator. Licenses can also be granted that allow for the commercial or non-commercial use or works, and also the country or countires which it applies to.
6. Use an image from Creative Commons in your blog correctly
I have attached a photograph that was hosted on flickr.com, courtesy of MarcX Photography.
The photographer has licensed it with some rights reserved, under these conditions:
Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.
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| Photo by MarcX Photography - www.marcxphotography.net |
7. Give your opinion on the way that total freedom from copyright might affect our culture
If their were no copyright laws I can see two scenarios.
The first being that if their were no copyright laws then anyone could alter anything in any way that they wished. This would have an effect on creativity, as you may find more uses of existing works in lots of ways that you may have never thought possible. This could have a positive effect in that it would benefit people without placing restrictions on what they could do with existing material, and you could end up with lots of good outcomes. Good music, artwork, products etc. Things could progress quicker as people could use/share ideas in whatever way they wanted. On the negative side, you could end up with lots of poor products/material, as people could just 'have a go', possibly without excersising any expertise or knowledge.
Secondly, by having copyright laws, we are protecting creators of works, but at the same time, placing restrictions on its use. This could stifle creativity as some people who may like to experiement with or derive further works may not be allowed to do so. As an example, someone could remix a song in such a way that has never been heard before, and may seem ahead of its time, but to release this commercially would only be possible if granted consent by the copyright holder.
Chris
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