Student: Robert Taylor
CUNY School of Professional Studies
BUS 630- Business Law & Ethics in the Digital Age
Instructor: Professor Michael Jacobs
September 21, 2020
Abstract: The paper probes how Intellectual Property law protects Copyright over the internet. It looks at the measures that can be taken to ensure that intellectual property is protected over the internet. It also focuses on the remedies people may have when their intellectual property rights are violated over the internet.
- Introduction:
The 21st Century has seen a rapid rise in Technological advancement- especially in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector. The world today has conveniently been shrunk down to what has been termed as a ‘global village,’ owing to the development of the internet, which is arguably the most outstanding and reliable innovation within the aspects of communication. It follows; a lot of intellectual property flow through the internet owing majorly to cyber commerce. Unfortunately, this situation has exposed such intellectual property to thieves who copy the works and reproduce them to their advantage. There is therefore a dire need for both internet users and authors to acquaint themselves with copyright laws.
- Content:
Copyright law owes its genesis from the Statute of Anne in 1710. This law recognized the right of authors to have property rights over their creations. The United States adopted this law in 1790. Currently, copyright law is protected under the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution specifically authorizes Congress to develop a copyright law regime. And with the advance of technology, the United States government made several amendments to the Copyright Act of 1790 to include computer programs as protected works. Also, in 1998, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was enacted to keep the Copyright Act up to date with technology.
Another interesting aspect of copyright protection is the duration for protection. It is essential to know the duration of protection for copyrighted work so that an author or an internet user may know when their rights to work begin or end. Generally, copyright protection in the United States lasts the lifetime of the author and lasts until seventy (70) years after the death of the author.
The purpose of copyright law is to ensure that it is only authors who can be rewarded for their works. The U.S. copyright law regime serves this purpose. For instance, the Copyright Act provides that nobody should circumvent a technological measure set to control the access to copyrighted work. This provision shows that the U.S. government is committed to protecting the works of authors. The law also provides a limit to an author’s intellectual property rights. One of them is fair use. Under fair use, an individual can be permitted to use copyrighted work depending on: the purpose and character of the use (the use should be non-commercial), the nature of the copyrighted work, amount of the portion copied or used, and the effect of the use on the market for the work.
When an author’s Copyright is violated, the author can claim for both civil and criminal remedies. Civil remedies include injunctions, damages, and attorney fees. On the other hand, criminal remedies include fines and imprisonment.
Conclusion:
The U.S. government is committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of authors on the internet. This protection is timely because of the rise in internet activities in the recent past. Therefore, it is prudent for both internet users and authors to be familiar with copyright laws. Such knowledge will help protect intellectual property and in the long run, ensure that the incidences of copyright violations go down.
REFERENCE
17 U.S. Code Chapter 3.
17 U.S. Code Chapter 5.
Burgunder, Lee. Legal Aspects of Managing Technology. (2011). South-Western Cengage Learning, 5th edition, p. 295.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 112 Stat. 2860 (1998).
McLuhan, M. (1992). The Global Village: Transformations in World Life and Media in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press.
Religious Technology Center v. Netcom On-Line Communication Services, Inc., 907 F. Supp. 1361 (N.D. Cal. 1995).
The Copyright Act, 1709 8 Anne c.21.
The Copyright Act, 1790, Stat. 124.
The U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8.
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