copyright

Some take the approach of looking for coherent justifications of established copyright systems, while others start with general ethical theories, such as utilitarianism and try to analyse policy through that lens.

Another approach denies the meaningfulness of any ethical justification for existing copyright law, viewing it simply as a result ( and perhaps an undesirable result ) of political processes.

Most scholars of copyright agree that it can be called a kind of property, because it involves the exclusion of others from something.

There are many other philosophical questions which arise in the jurisprudence of copyright.

Some critics claim copyright law protects corporate interests while criminalizing legitimate use, while proponents argue the law is fair and just.

An irrevocable right to be recognized as the work's creator appears in some countries ' copyright laws.

Aside from the role of governments and the church, the history of copyright law is in essential ways also connected to the rise of capitalism and the attendant extension of commodity relations to the realm of creative human activities, such as literary and artistic production.

Similarly, different cultural attitudes, social organizations, economic models and legal frameworks are seen to account for why copyright emerged in Europe and not, for example, in Asia.

Not until capitalism emerges in Europe with its individualist ideological underpinnings does the conception of intellectual property and by extension copyright law emerge.

The most significant point is that under the capitalist mode of production, patent, and copyright laws support in fundamental and thoroughgoing ways the expansion of the range of creative human activities that can be commodified.

The Statute of Anne was the first real copyright act, and gave the publishers rights for a fixed period, after which the copyright expired.

Prior to the passage of the United States Constitution, several States passed their own various copyright laws between 1783 and 1787, the first state being Connecticut.

The Copyright Clause of the United States Constitution ( 1787 ) authorized copyright legislation: " To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.

A right to profit from the work has been the philosophical underpinning for much legislation extending the duration of copyright, to the life of the creator and beyond, to his heirs.

The original length of copyright in the United States was 14 years, and it had to be explicitly applied for.

Under the Berne Convention, copyrights for creative works do not have to be asserted or declared, as they are automatically in force at creation: an author need not " register " or " apply for " a copyright in countries adhering to the Berne Convention.

As soon as a work is " fixed ", that is, written or recorded on some physical medium, its author is automatically entitled to all copyrights in the work, and to any derivative works unless and until the author explicitly disclaims them, or until the copyright expires.

The United States and most Latin American countries instead entered into the Buenos Aires Convention in 1910, which required a copyright notice ( such as all rights reserved ) on the work, and permitted signatory nations to limit the duration of copyrights to shorter and renewable terms.

For example, the copyright to a Mickey Mouse cartoon restricts others from making copies of the cartoon or creating derivative works based on Disney's particular anthropomorphic mouse, but does not prohibit the creation of other works about anthropomorphic mice in general, so long as they are different enough to not be judged copies of Disney's.

In many jurisdictions, copyright law makes exceptions to these restrictions when the work is copied for the purpose of commentary or other related uses ( See fair use, fair dealing ).

Meanwhile, other laws may impose additional restrictions that copyright does not — such as trademarks and patents.

A copyright certificate for proof of the Fermat theorem, issued by the State Department of Intellectual Property of Ukraine

Typically, a work must meet minimal standards of originality in order to qualify for copyright, and the copyright expires after a set period of time ( some jurisdictions may allow this to be extended ).