Copyrighted all over the place- Part I

So I wanted to find out more about the official copyright laws of our country; just where the vague line of copyright and piracy is technically drawn. Copyright can initially be traced all the way back to the Constitution...

"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts,

by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors

the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

I was considerably taken aback to find this written in the Constitution, but fortunately it was one of those good surprises! More recently than 1787 there have been successful efforts towards increasing the protection of copyrighted material and original works, but not without their fair share of loopholes.

An idea, song, invention, etc. is automatically copyrighted once it is created. However, this copyright holds very little ground because there is no tangible proof, and if a situation were to occur where the origins were questioned a verbal claim of ownership would not suffice.

Thus there was the development of what is known as the "poor man's copyright", where the originators package a copy of their work and go through the process of mailing it back to themselves. This is proof enough of the time, date and location of its origins and as long as it remains unopened, can be used as evidence of ownership.

The official U.S. Copyright Office recognizes the poor man's copyright briefly on their website, but the blurb is short and it is clear they do not approve or recommend this method (check it out). They disapprove of it as no substitute for actual copyright registration, and instead suggest registering your material with them *OFFICIALLY* for $35! This requires going in and filling out a form to legally claim what's yours in a way recognizable by the government. Fortunately for them, this is the only way to effectively prove to the world that you were smart enough to come up with something without stealing or copying, but... *gasp* on your own!?

After a designated amount of time, the copyrighted material enters what is known as the "public domain". The U.S. Copyright Office answers the question we all have on their FAQ portion of the website:

"Where is the public domain?

The public domain is not a place.

A work of authorship is in the “public domain” if it is no longer under copyright protection or if it failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection. Works in the public domain may be used freely without the permission of the former copyright owner.

Haha the first part comes off a little silly for a very serious federal website- but I like it because it made me chuckle :)

The period of time a work stays protected under copyright is based on several factors, including who created the work, what type of material it is (novel, lyric, etc), and its publication (or lack-there-of). There is an entire list of possible characteristics of a copyrighted work and the length of time before it enters the public sphere is based on these traits; you can easily browse copyright timeline here! (Seems a little unnecessarily complex, doesn't it?)

As for loopholes, this isn't the part where I tell you how to copy and steal without getting caught. But I will point out that the lines are not as clear as they would like us to believe they are. Some copying and replication is not prohibited, even with an official copyright. For example, the "Fair Use Doctrine" allows distribution and copying without author recognition or payment; one can prove it was "fair use" with four abstract factors:

1. the purpose and character of the use
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
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

How does this sit with everybody?

In my personal opinion, American society seems a little obsessed with ownership and claiming what is ours. Perhaps this is because our culture values progression and upward movement; achieving the unachievable, striving for perfection that just doesn't exist. It is not enough for us to enjoy something, or create something for others to enjoy freely- we want everyone to know where it came from, who it belongs to, and you can look but you can't touch- unless you pay enough. How much further are we going to take copyrighting?

I would like to leave you with a final thought- HAHA! Is this real??

ps- I will be posting another entry shortly addressing the further attempts to control ownership and spread of licensed material recently, and how technology is only making things harder. So STAY TUNED people... much more to come!