Copyrights and Trademarks

Copyrights and Their History

Copyrights cover works that are verbal, audiovisual, musical, architectural, and photographic, among others. Although the types of activity under copyrights vary, the entity protected by copyrights should possess a fixed form. Thus, any speeches or activities of an improvisational character are not subject to copyright. Legally, only the creator of literary works, songs, photographs, or scientific articles has the right to change them or make additional copies. The copyright holder can also prepare other works on the basis of the copyrighted work and has the right to transfer the copyright ownership to a third person or organization. Works in which the authors and representatives are unknown, called orphan works, are also protected by copyright.

Copyrights are determined by a time factor. For example, in the United States, a copyright lasts for 70 years after the copyright owner's death. When the intellectual property rights expire, the achievements belong to the public sphere. For example, the works of some writers, such as William Shakespeare, are part of the public domain. The free access to the works of art or science is also related to the term copyleft, which is often promoted and employed within anticopyright networks. This signifies that the accomplishment (usually a computer program) can be used freely by anyone (under certain conditions). In the case of software, the program can be run and distributed according to the copyleft license. Audience and auteur networks in favor of copyleft stress that it supports the idea that both intellectual property and knowledge constitute a common good.

There are two legal approaches to copyrights: property or authorship rights. In some legal systems, copyrights are divided into material and personal rights. [Page 181]Material rights protect authors, writers, and artists, as well as the companies dealing with the promotion and distribution of copyrighted issues, against the loss of profits and material benefits. They also protect the state and society against the unpaid taxes on copyrighted accomplishments. Personal copyrights are related to linking the name of the author to the piece.

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