_{Copyleft, Copyright, and everything in between and around}

The issue of copyright has been receiving increasing attention in the last three decades and it is expected that it keeps being on the spot for another three at least. It’s meanings, ramifications, and consequences for societies and individuals have changed with time and will continue to change. Through this short presentation, you will find many sources of information about copyright-related topics. Our intention is not to present a comprehensive complete vision of copyright, but to introduce some of the issues and questions about copyright and provide sources so an interested learner can find out her/his own answers.

---

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: the origin of the problem

---

Before we talk about copyright and alternatives to it, we need to address the problem of Intellectual Property, since Copyright is just a form of it. These are some questions that need to be answered on this topic:

• What is intellectual property?
• How is it defined?
• Who defines the scope of intellectual property?

If you are looking for answers to these questions, the following links may be of help:

• http://inventors.about.com/od/patenttrademarkcopyright/u/Intellectual_Property.htm
  • This is a page containing general information about Intellectual Property, types, and related how-to topics (i.e. how to register a copyright license).
• http://cflegacy.research.umn.edu/intellectualproperty/
  • For a practical approach to understanding Intellectual Property, you want to take the Intellectual Property Online Workshop. The main focus of this workshop is in the implications for research, scholarship, and teaching.
• http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/s06020.htm
  • This link is from the official page of the European Union and presents their view about intellectual property and protection of inventions.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_intellectual_property-related_topics
  • For a comprehensive list of topics related to Intellectual Property, you can start in this Wikipedia article that lists and links a number of them.
• http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/doc/ipnii/
  • Check here for some official information from the Patent and Trademark Office of the U.S.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_intellectual_property
  • In this page you can find criticisms of intellectual property, controversies, and alternative terms. It takes a look at Intellectual Property from several perspectives (i.e. economic)

If you are interested in the legal side of this problem, the following links present the laws on intellectual property and how they operate:

• http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/sg_ip.htm
  • This page presents most of the legal information about Intellectual property as well as the latest news in changes in the law and results of legal cases about IP.
• http://ip.research.sc.edu/
  • This is an example of how Intellectual Property is managed at state level. You can find other IP offices for the different states containing important information about how to register and manage your IP.

---

COPYRIGHT: the core of the issue

---

From all the types of Intellectual Property licenses and related topics, Copyright is the most preeminent. Copyright has become the center of the issue about intellectual property related rights. It is so widespread the controversy about copyright that it seems all of the debate is about copyright, when in reality, most of the time we are discussing about issues with many ramifications that require considering the laws on Intellectual Property and how they apply to the different types of IP.

Many questions arise when considering this issue. As a sample, these are the ones that show up recurrently in a superficial study of the topic:

• What is the Copyright?
• When does it apply?
• What is a “copy”?
• How does it apply to the different type of creations?
• How does sharing of materials infringe copyright regulations?
• How long does it last?

For general information of what could be considered “the universe of Copyright”, the following links may prove useful:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyrights
  • This is an article from Wikipedia that presents general topics related to the copyright. A good place to start.
• http://www.copyright.gov/
  • This is the official webpage of the U.S. Government on Copyright. It contains definitions, descriptions, legislation, and recommendations regarding Copyright.
• http://www.benedict.com/Info/Info.aspx
  • This is a good, user-friendly web dedicated to present the concept, implications, and applications of Copyright. It is very interesting that they divide the considerations about copyright in different areas (web, music, movies) so the user can find specific information on each area.
• http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter0/
  • This page presents general considerations about the copyright.
• http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12313&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
  • This is the official page of the UNESCO and provides many resources about copyright including general information, committees and organizations related to copyright, and a link to the different national legislations on copyright.
• http://inventors.about.com/od/copyrights/a/CopyrightNotice.htm
  • This link presents information about the use of the copyright notice and the symbol.
• http://www.umuc.edu/library/copy.shtml
  • Another university page that provides information about the copyright in general and its implications for the use of copyrighted materials in the classroom.
• http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Copyright/
  • This page links to many other related to the different issues related to the copyright.
• http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/copyright/index_en.htm
  • This page presents the position of the European Union about the copyright, with definitions, recommendations, and standards for all European countries.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain
  • This page presents a general overview of what materials are considered to be in the Public Domain and can be used freely since they are not registered under the copyright law.

Many universities, organizations, and companies are now concerned with fair use of copyrighted materials. This has produced many initiatives to increase the awareness regarding copyright legislation and how it affects us. The following links are useful when looking for information on fair use of copyrighted materials:

• http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/tutorials/copyright/
  • This is an interactive presentation about the use of copyrighted media in courses. It uses an analogy to drive the user through the process of determining fair use of copyrighted material. The user explore each material through a “metro” –like system to help determine the fairness of every specific use.
• http://memory.loc.gov/learn/start/cpyrt/
  • Presents an interesting set of FAQ about copyright and fair use.
• http://www.umuc.edu/library/copy.shtml#fairuse
  • It contains a comprehensive overview about fair use of copyrighted materials.
• http://www.benedict.com/Info/FairUse/Visualizer/Visualizer.aspx
  • It presents a tool for calculating the “fairness” value of any given use of copyrighted materials through assigning values to different indexes. Feedback about each index is automatically displayed in the fairness bar so you can always see what the consequences of each step are.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights
  • This is the page that Wikipedia has to explain how Wikipedia operates and how issues related to copyright affect the project. It is intended for users.
• http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter0/0-e.html
  • Presents an interesting example about fair use related to the use of videotaping for the classroom.
• http://www.youtube.com/t/howto_copyright?gl=US&hl=en
  • This page presents the recommendations from Youtube about the fair use of copyrighted materials on their portal. It is, as well, intended for users.

For more information focused on copyright laws and regulations (from a legal perspective), please check:

• http://homepages.law.asu.edu/Personal/dkarjala/web_homepage/OpposingCopyrightExtension/
• http://inventors.about.com/od/copyrights/a/CopyrightNotice.htm
• http://web.austin.utexas.edu/law_library/copyright/

---

ALTERNATIVES TO COPYRIGHT

---

For the last decade, more and more concerns have been raised about the lack of creative freedom that copyright regulations and laws impose both in traditional and emerging artistic fields as well as in the right of the people to knowledge. As a consequence of this debate, a movement trying to present alternatives to copyright has emerged.

The front alternative to copyright, and the one that includes most of the other alternatives, is Copyleft, which tries to express the desire of the author of a work of reserving some rights but not all rights registered under copyright law. For a general overview of Copyleft and how it works, please see:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyleft
• http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/copyleft.html

One of the copyleft initiatives in recent years is Creative Commons, which allows the author to control which rights are reserved and which ones are not. The creative commons licenses are becoming more and more used by creators all around the globe. There are some controversies regarding this alternative, but several groups are keeping an eye in the progression of this new form of Intellectual Property. For some general information about Creative Commons and its licenses, please visit:

• http://creativecommons.org/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons
• http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons_licenses

To complete the view about this topic, it is recommended to see what activists on different levels are trying to do in order to modify, rework, or eliminate copyright. While some groups are focused on the changes to the copyright that favor companies trying to keep materials from reaching the public domain for some more years, others are against copyright as a whole and try to promote free access by publishing under no-copyright.

These are some links to different initiatives in this level that may be of interest:

• http://www.petitiononline.com/eldred/petition.html
• http://no-copyright.blogspot.com/
• http://www.wumingfoundation.com/

On a closing note, we will like to add that since the nature and medium of creative expression is changing rapidly, copyright regulations and laws are and will be a “slow moving dinosaur” trying to catch a “fast flying mosquito”. Where there was once the figure of the artist/inventor/creator, now there are communities of users sharing, creating together. Where once there were big companies monopolizing the materials produced for entertainment and education, there are now groups of individuals capable of generating high quality materials that are shared under different licenses that have been introduced by communities in the Internet. Open source may have shown a way for actual open access to materials, tools, and contents throughout the globe, continuing the work that libraries have been doing for centuries in guaranteeing universal access to knowledge. Copyright may be perceived today as the new obstacle to achieve this same purpose. The expansive nature of the copyright laws is being countered by an expansive search for new ways to cooperate and find new avenues for creativity. How this issue will come to be resolved, we do not know. But the issue is sure not over yet.