This
is a quick look at Copyright,
Fair Use and
Public Domain issues relevant to
the project. For more in-depth
information visit the U.S. Government
Copyright site at
http://www.copyright.gov.
Copyright is the ownership of a work
(such as words, photographs, music, art
work) by the creator of the work of the
current copyright holder. In the United
States a work is protected at the moment
of creation. As the copyright holder you
do not need to see or have the copyright
symbol appear (many owners choose to use
it) to have a work protected.
This means:
- You cannot use a copyrighted work without the permission of the copyright
holder.
- You must ask permission, generally in writing, and have the copyright owner
indicate permission or denial.
- The copyright holder may choose to ignore you, grant you permission or deny
you permission to use the work.
- Check the usage policy on the web page or make the effort to secure
permission.
When in doubt - do not use a copyrighted work without permission.
Concepts, Ideas, Formulas and The Merger Doctrine
A concept, idea or theory cannot be copyrighted. So you are free to state
that the Earth is flat (or round) and post it on your web site. You can't be
sued for using that theory. But if you use an artistically rendered copyrighted
image created by another person, you have just violated a copyright.
A fact cannot be copyrighted - if you type or create an image of the
formula for sugar and post it on a web site, you have every right to do so. If
you use an artistically stylized way of rendering the formula (that you found in
a text book), then you are in violation.
The Merger Doctrine - sometimes the idea and the
way you can express an idea are so close that they can't be separated. In this
picture of a formula there are limited ways to express this chemical without
using particular universally accepted symbol structures. The symbol structures
cannot be copyrighted. You are free to use the conventional way of graphically
expressing the formula.
The same is true for maps outlining the human anatomy and web page
navigation. You are not free, however, to copy a formula out of a page of a
copyrighted textbook or to use an illustrator's particular unique style of
rendering a formula.
References