Copyright - what is it, how to get it and protect it?

Creative images, artistic ideas, scientific concepts in the process of man's creative activity, multiplied by inspiration, turn into a work. At the moment when ideas are embodied in reality and acquire a material form in the form of scientific work or a work of art, copyright arises.

What is copyright?

The work created by the author is his property. And where the talk is about the right of ownership, the law begins to operate. Copyright - these are civil norms that regulate relationships and regulate the behavior of equal parties in the sphere of the use of intellectual property. The creator of any work is a subject, and the result of his intellectual work is an object of copyright.

Features of copyright:

1. If the creative work is the implementation of an order or assignment from the employer, then the customer or employer becomes the copyright holder.
2. If radio stations and TV channels buy out exclusive rights to use audio or video material, they have the right to prohibit the reproduction of their broadcasts on other channels. Or the performer, in his own way, varying the already well-known musical work, receives copyrights for the arrangement. This norm was called "related rights".

Copyright in the Internet

It does not matter whether a creative product is placed on paper or electronic media. In any case, it is subject to copyright. Thus, all text, audio, photo and video materials presented on the Internet, ideally are creative works and protected by law. In reality, copyright infringement on the Internet is the most common, habitual and difficult to prove fact.

Objects of copyright

Ideas and thoughts become objects of copyright, when they can be seen, heard or felt. In other words, when they acquire the objective form:

• literary (prose, poetry, report, and even personal correspondence);
• stage (dramatic, choreographic productions);
• musical (with and without text, arranges arrangements and processing here);
• video, audio or photographic;
• picturesque or sculptural;
• architectural (as already embodied in the construction, and existing in the form of sketches);
• electronic (databases, computer programs).

All objects are subject to exclusive copyright, which guarantees to creators or owners of rights to control the use of creative works and to obtain income from their commercial use. Thus, the exclusive right is the property right, on which the material benefit of the subject directly depends.

Types of copyrights

The notion of copyright guarantees:

• authentication of the authorship and safety of the work from unreasonable claims;
• the identification of authorized persons and conditions for the publication of the work;
• granting to authors and rightholders of property and personal rights;
• legal protection of these rights.

As already mentioned, copyright property law is the right to receive income:

1. The creative product is in the personal property of the author. He can realize it on his own and make a profit.
2. The creator has the right to transfer the rights to the work to third parties for commercial use. In this case, he is paid a reward.

Personal rights do not have a term, are inalienable and inalienable, and can not be transferred to anyone and under any circumstances:

1. The author is guaranteed the right to keep his creation secret, or to publish it.
2. The author at any time can withdraw the work transferred to the rightholders, refusing to distribute it. At the same time, he is obliged to cover expenses and compensate losses.
3. The author has the right to sign the work with his own name, publish it anonymously, or use a pseudonym.
4. The right of authorship remains unchanged. The name of the creator is protected by law. The publication of the work with the indication of another person as the author is prohibited.
5. Any creative product is inviolable. (You can not include comments in the text, add a prologue or an epilogue).
6. Prohibited changes and falsifications, discrediting the reputation and the name of the author.

How to get copyrights?

Registration of copyright in the Russian Federation is not required. However, when determining authorship, the law is guided by documentary evidence of the primacy, according to the principle "who first registered the work, the one and the author". It is important for creative people to know how to design copyrights (sequence of actions):

1. Appeal to the Russian Author's Society or to the notary with an application for the acquisition of a patent for any creative product.
2. Transfer to the accounting authority copies of this product, its photographs or video testimonials.
3. Providing author's documents, in some cases, information about the alias used.
4. Payment of state duty or the services of the registrar.
5. Obtaining documents confirming authorship.

Term of validity of copyright

Compliance with copyright is guaranteed by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The period of their validity is also determined by the law:

1. Personal rights relate to the personality of the author, therefore their action is limited by the time of his life.
2. The exception is the authorship and inviolability of the work. These norms are not legally binding.
3. The effect of property rights after the author's death is extended for another 70 years. Then the work becomes public property. Restrictions on its public use are removed.

How not to violate copyrights?

With the advent of the Internet, copyright infringement went in two main directions:

• copying and distribution;
• plagiarism.

To avoid "virtual piracy," you should:

• buy licensed products;
• use free resources provided by information channels;
• use resources that have become public;
• using in the text of the quote, indicate a reference to the work and the author.

How to protect copyrights?

Copyright protection has a two-way direction:

1. One side is state guarantees through legislation.
2. The other is the author's ability to prove the primacy in creating a work.

Methods of copyright protection:

1. A lawsuit to the judicial authorities on the recognition of authorship, the destruction of counterfeit, compensation for material and moral damage.
2. Fix the date of creation of the work at the notary.
3. Depositing (storing) media with information about the work or the work itself in the notary's office or in the RAO.
4. Drawing up by the notary the protocol of the inspection of the Internet page, literally "what I see, then I write".