Lecture on copyright - what is protected, what rights you have as artists, what is infringement, fair use / fair dealing, sharing with creative commons licenses - presented to Visual Arts students at Lasalle School of the Arts, Singapore

1. COPYRIGHT FOR ARTISTS
Benjamin Ang www.visual-lawschool.com
Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed under CC BY 3.0

2. Outline
 What is Copyright?
 What are your rights?
 How can we share or re-use?
 Case Study

3. What is Copyright?
What are your rights?
How can we share or re-use?
Case Study
What is copyright?

4. What does copyright protect?
 1. Novels
 2. Computer programs
 3. Sheet music
 4. Paintings
 5. All of the above
Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed under CC BY 3.0

5. 5. All of the above
 1. Novels – Literary Work
 2. Computer programs – Literary Work
 3. Sheet music – Musical Work
 4. Paintings – Artistic Work
 Also Scripts for plays – Dramatic Work

6. What copyright protects
 “A degree of independent effort in the creation of
the work.”
 NOT whether the work has creative merit.
Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed under CC BY 3.0

7. Mary has an original idea
… does she have copyright?
My installation will
be 10 metres high
and made of
green noodles

8. No, she has no copyright yet
She has to put it in material form

9. Mary didn‟t register her artwork
… does she still have copyright?
Hey, you didn‟t
register!

10. Yes, registration is NOT necessary
But it could be useful to help prove
Mary was the original artist

11. Mary now has Exclusive Rights
to her work, in many countries
You all need
my permission

12. Permission = „license‟
She can ask them to pay Royalties

13. Mary didn‟t add © to her work
… does she still have copyright?
Hey, you didn‟t
add a © !

14. The use of the symbol © is simply a
notice of a claim by the copyright
owner that copyright exists
© doesn‟t create any rights

15. Artistic Works and Works of Artistic
Craftsmanship
 Paintings
 Drawings
 Photographs
 Regardless of artistic
value!
 Must be artistic
 Must have
craftsmanship
Artistic Works Artistic Craftsmanship
Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed under CC BY 3.0

16. Authors Works that are protected
Type Example
Literary Written works / Books
Articles in journals or newspapers
Lyrics in songs
Source codes of computer programs
Dramatic Scripts for films & drama (as applied)
Choreographic scripts for shows or dance
Musical Melody
Artistic Paintings
Drawings
Photographs
Works of artistic craftsmanship, e.g. designer furniture that is not mass
produced

17. Copyright also protects Entrepreneurs
Recordings Publications
Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed under CC BY 3.0

18. Entrepreneurial works that are
protected
Type Example
Published
editions
Typographic arrangements of a published work
Sound
recordings
sounds recorded on tapes, CDs, etc
Films visual images and sounds recorded on tapes,
video compact discs, digital versatile discs
TV and radio
Broadcasts
TV and radio Broadcasts
Cable
programmes
Programmes (visual images and sound) included in a cable
programme service sent by means of a telecommunication
System
Performances By performers such as musicians, singers and comedians

19. What is NOT protected by copyright
Ideas/
Concepts Discoveries Historical
Facts
Methods Procedures
Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed under CC BY 3.0

20. What is Copyright?
What are your rights?
How can we share or re-use?
Case Study
What are your rights?

21. Can Billy make a 2D copy of Mary‟s
3D artwork?
Your sculpture is 3D,
my photo is 2D, it‟s
not the same!

22. The artist has exclusive right to make
2D versions of 3D works, and
3D versions of 2D works
Billy needs permission

23. Can Tom publish Mary‟s artwork?
I‟ll put it in a
book, which I‟m
giving away free

24. The artist has exclusive right to publish
the work
Tom needs permission

25. Rights in Classical Works
Type of Work Exclusive Rights that the Creator has
Literary, dramatic
and musical
works
•reproduce the work;
•publish the work;
•perform the work in public;
•communicate the work to the public; and
•make an adaptation of the work.
Artistic works •reproduce the work;
•publish the work; and
•communicate the work to the public
•Make 2D versions of 3D works
•Make 3D versions of 2D works

26. SOME EXCEPTIONS TO THE
RIGHTS

27. Can Terri make copies of Mary‟s
artwork to teach her class?

28. Terri may have Fair Use
But she must fit the criteria for
educational or research purposes

29. Can Billy use part of the artwork in a
documentary?
My documentary is
about artists like Mary

30. Billy may have Fair Use
Provided he is commenting or
reviewing the work

31. Fair Dealing Examples
 Fair dealing = up to
10% of the number of
pages or 1 chapter,
whichever is the
greater
 Fair dealing =
acknowledgment of
the work
“research or study” “criticism, review or reporting”

32. The 4 Factors of Fair Dealing
 Purpose and character of the dealing (e.g.
commercial nature? non-profit? Educational?);
 Nature of the work;
 Amount and substantiality of the part copied taken
in relation to the whole work;
 Effect of the dealing upon the potential market;
 The possibility of obtaining the work within a
reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price.

33. Is this allowed?

34. Is this allowed?
What about publishing an
advertisement that shows the
difference?

35. WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH
YOUR RIGHTS

36. What you can do with rights
 Copyright is a form of property.
 It can be licensed or transferred,
 either as an entire bundle (all of the rights)
 or as a single right (e.g. only the right to adapt)
Adaptation

37. Case Study: Hercules

38. How long these rights last
Type of Work Duration of Copyright
Literary, dramatic,
musical and artistic
works
70 years from the end of the year in which
the author died.
Specifically for photographs, or if the work
is published after the death of the author,
it lasts for 70 years, from the end of the
year in which the work was first published.
Published editions of
literary, dramatic,
musical or artistic
works (layout)
25 years from the end of the year in which
the edition was first published.

39. INFRINGEMENT

40. No consent = infringement
 Consent is needed to do anything that only the
copyright owner has the exclusive right to do (e.g.
reproduce the work).
 Merely acknowledging the source when one uses the
work is insufficient.
 To obtain consent from copyright owners, one may:
 contact the copyright owners directly and negotiate for a
licence to use the copyright work; or
 obtain a licence through a collecting society.
 No consent = infringement

41. Primary Infringement
 Infringement occurs when one has not obtained
consent from the copyright owner to do something
that only the copyright owner has the exclusive right
to do.
 E.G. photocopies an artwork without consent
Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed under CC BY 3.0

42. Don‟t infringe these rights
Reproducing Adapting Publishing

43. Substantial Amount
 You don‟t need to have reproduced the entire
copyright work -
 As long as a SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT of the original
work has been copied.
 NOT just quantity copied
 It‟s the NATURE of the portion
that was copied
 If the portion copied is important part,
it may be a SUBSTANTIAL amount
Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed under CC BY 3.0

44. Secondary Infringement
 When one deals commercially with infringing
copies, e.g. if he
 a) imports infringing copies for sale or distribution;
 b) sells (including distribution for trade or any other
purpose)
 or lets for hire infringing copies; or
 c) offers infringing copies for sale or hire by way of
trade.

45. Don‟t infringe these rights
Importing Selling Offering

46. What is Copyright?
What are your rights?
How can we share or re-use?
Case Study
How can we share and re-use?

47. Permission from Copyright Owners
Can you use this image from singapore.sg ?

48. Permission from Copyright Owners
 “Terms of Use …. You also grant other users and
members of the public a world-wide, royalty free, non-
revocable and non-exclusive licence to use, distribute,
reproduce, modify, adapt, publicly perform and
publicly display such Content for non-commercial
purposes. Non-commercial purposes include but are
not limited to academic presentations, private
research, study, criticism and review, any charitable
purpose and any purpose that is solely for public
benefit.” Source: Singapore.sg
http://app.singapore.sg/terms-of-use

49. Public Domain = no control
 Intellectual property rights
have expired or are
inapplicable. E.g.
 The plays of Shakespeare
 The music of Beethoven
 Most of the early silent
films
 Formulae of Newtonian
physics
 Sources
 Wikimedia Commons
 Pixelbay

50. How can Mary give her art to fans
free, but make commercial users pay?
Do I need a
lawyer to do
this?

51. Post it online, and attach a Creative
Commons license

52. Creative Commons = some control

53. What does this allow?

54. COPYRIGHT FOR ARTISTS
Benjamin Ang www.visual-lawschool.com
Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed under CC BY 3.0