What is Copyright? How is it used today?
What is Copyright?: There are tens and thousands of duplicates that are present for various objects nowadays. From music to articles to names of companies and businesses, copyright has been a term that is very commonly heard lately. But what is this term that has been so overused and heard everywhere? Copyright is defined as the legal and exclusive right to own some sort of possession to the originator for a limited period to publish or produce different things and own them. It provides the originator with exclusive authorship of the piece of content. What are the various things that can be copyrighted? Why is copyright needed and what are the benefits of it? Let’s discuss these various queries arising from this topic and try to understand the basics of it.
Why is copyright needed?
The very basic response as to why copyright is required is to prevent the use of the unauthorized or wrong advantage of one’s hard work. Copyright can be claimed with any sort of imitation or usage of one’s content and can be either taken down or the originator can profit off of the work that has been reposted. Although inspiration from any sort of art cannot be copyrighted. It creates a sense of safety, and freedom and allows the author to gain recognition through their work and art. Not only it is very important but also morally correct for the originators to own their work rather than someone having to copy it.
What are the various things that can be copyrighted?
Any work or art that has uniqueness and is not just a blunt, vague idea can be copyrighted. E.g. various literary works such as poems, novels, pieces of literature, computer programs, articles and so much more can be copyrighted.
Art compositions such as films and music in both lyrically and composed form can be copyrighted. However, many people tend to confuse this and sampling. Sampling is taking inspiration from other artists and creating a piece with their work and giving credit and a certain amount of capital to the artist from that they have taken the inspiration. The choreography of certain iconic dances can also be copyrighted.
Artistic creative works such as paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures, and statues even can be covered under copyright benefits.
Various architectural designs can also be copyrighted as well as advertisements and technical drawings.
Also Read: What is Non-Fungible Token (NFTs)?
What are the various benefits of copyright acknowledgements?
The following are some of the benefits that can be accessed if the possession is copyrighted.
- Prevention of Capital Loss
- Legal protection against unauthorized works
- Protecting Reputations
- Urge to produce new and creative content
- Provide the most authentic and original form of knowledge
Basic Conditions Required for Copyright
As we know copyright can be applied to various artworks and various other forms but what is to learn about is that there is certain set of conditions that have to be checked out before having to apply for a copyright claim.
Tangibility
The content is supposed to have some sort of tangibility and must have a fixated medium of expressing ideas and thoughts. As soon as the expression is fixated on a tangible medium, it would not matter if the work has been published or not, it can be copyrighted
Creativity
The basic set of work can not be copyrighted and that is because it may be some general knowledge on the internet without any creativity to it, it matters if the originator creates some sort of creativity and uniqueness to it. Let’s take an example: for any object that needs assembly, the basic components would not be copyrighted; however, but the set of instructions required for the assembly process can be copyrighted.
Originality
The most important condition required for copyright has to be originality. It doesn’t have to be good quality-wise or in any form or shape relevant or not, it just needs to be original and in the most authentic form.
With these let’s also focus on some of the things copyright won’t be covering.
Names, phrases, slogans, facts, symbols or titles are not necessarily applicable for copyright claims however copyright laws do protect certain uniqueness.
Ideas, concepts, discoveries, guidelines and protocols are not covered by copyright laws but can be covered under patent or trademark laws.
Conclusion – What is Copyright
With that, we conclude the basic information regarding copyright and how it works and what are the various benefits. Since the originators have indeed performed a lot of hard work to achieve the results that we see now, we should rather appreciate the hard work and generate our unique ideas with the concepts, theories and baselines that they have provided rather than abusing and profitting off of those. Hope this article helped you understand the concept and the various aspects that have been surrounding it.
