Intellectual Copyright

Video credit:Intellectual Property: Copyrights – posted by Kauffman FoundersSchool on YouTube

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What is copyrightable?
- Your expression of your idea
- Your artwork, music and product
- anything that is not owned by anyone.
In order for your work to be copyright, it has to be original and creative. If your expression of your idea is original and creative, then your work will be copyrightable.
As long as your artwork, music and product is original, then it is copyrightable.
Not quite. In order to be copyrightable, your work has to be original and creative.
Which of these are considered as a Copyright infringement?
- You have used classical music for your movie.
- The movie that you have created happens to be similar to my friend's movie
- You have used your friend's movie as a reference when you create the movie.
Copyright expires after life of the author + 70 years. Most classical music written by famous composers, such as Mozart, is under Public Domain. However, please note that even though the music itself is under public domain, the recording itself can be copyrighted. To learn more, visit our page about the Canadian Copyright Act.
This is not considered as copyright infringement. It is only considered as copyright infringement if you copied your friend's work while you create your movie. You may want to show your sources that you have used for your work and your process of developing the movie to prove that you have developed work from different path. You can learn more about properly citing sources in our online research tutorial.
If you have used your friend's movie as a reference, and your movie's final product is very similar to your friend's movie, and you have not credited his or her work, then it may be considered as copyright infringement. You can learn more about properly citing sources in our online research tutorial.
What's the best way to prove that you own your work?
- Keep records on how I have developed my work.
- Register for a patent.
- My work will be copyrighted automatically when I create the work. I don't have to do anything.
You're on the right track. Even though copyright will be automatically registered to your work, you will not know if your work is similar to the existent work that is copyrighted. If you are sued by the copyright holder, you will be able to defend by showing how you have developed your work. Keeping your record of how you have developed your work and showcasing it can even be a great idea for your e-portfolios.
That's one way. Especially if you are thinking of commercializing your idea, registering for a patent will be good idea. You will also be able to know if similar idea or a product exist when you register for a copyright. To learn more, visit our page on Canadian Copyright Law.
Yes, your work will be copyrighted automatically once you have created your work. However, you will not know if someone else has created similar copyrighted work. Just in case, it is a good idea to keep your record of how you have developed your work. Keeping your record of how you have developed your work and showcasing it can even be a great idea for your e-portfolios.

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In Canada, copyright is inherent with the producer of the original work. This means that you do not have to go to an official copyright certifier to say “I own this.” That being said, in the event of disputed origins, you might find yourself in a position to have to prove that it was you who created the work and having a registered copyright makes it easier to pursue legal action.

In order for something to be copyrightable it must be original and creative. It also must exist in a usable form. Therefore, an idea itself cannot be copyrighted, but the physical manifestation of that idea i.e) a book, a song, a computer game, cis copyrightable. More information can be found on the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s website.

In America the duration of copyright is the life of the author plus 70 years. After this time, the work enters the public domain. However, Disney is quite set on keeping Mickey Mouse out of the public domain, so it is likely that copyright duration will continue to lengthen. In Canada, copyright is also the creator’s life plus 70 years, but copyright protection is related to the country of the work’s origin.

Copyright infringement only takes place when someone literally sits there and copies something directly. If two people end up coming up with the same idea organically, it is not copyright infringement. However, if you happen to enter into a copyright dispute, you must be able to demonstrate that the idea was yours to begin with.

To do this it is important in the creation of a work to keep records of the entire process. You should keep all of the drafts of your idea from the very beginning of the process to the end, and record any source materials that you are working from. In the case of on-line material, it is important to add metadata to photos and video to prove that you are the original creator even if the material gets distributed without your consent. You have a right to be credited and/or paid for your work.

All in all, the better you document your process, the more protected your work will be.

Discuss

The Digital Tattoo Project encourages critical discussion on topics surrounding digital citizenship and online identity. There are no correct answers and every person will view these topics from a different perspective. Be sure to complete the previous sections before answering the questions.

Do you think intellectual copyright is a barrier to innovation?

Intellectual Copyright

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