WIPO Lex provides easy access to intellectual property legislation from a wide range of countries and regions as well as to treaties on intellectual property. Many national or regional intellectual property offices also provide information concerning national or regional legislation on their websites.
View a list of links to national and regional intellectual property offices to find out more. The first owner of copyright to a work is generally the original creator or author of the work. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule. In other countries the economic rights are deemed to be automatically assigned or transferred to the employer. Contact your national IP office to find out more about the particular national situation that interests you.
In general you always need authorization this may take the form of licensing or an assignment of rights before using a protected work. For certain uses, the authorization may come from a collective management organization instead of directly from the right owner, for example the authorization to use a song at a public concert. You may be allowed to use a protected work without any kind of authorization under two sets of circumstances:.
As most countries do not impose any formalities on the provision of copyright protection , locating the rights owner of a work can sometimes be difficult. Finding the rights owner of a specific work in a territory is usually possible if you contact: the author or the publisher or a work, the collective management organization , the local registry of works, or the national copyright office.
Such organizations may have databases that contain valuable information about ownership of copyrighted works. Collective management organizations may also assist you in obtaining authorization from the right owner of a work. In some cases it may be possible to use works that are not in the public domain without needing to request authorization from or remunerate the author or the right owner.
This can occur if such uses are covered by limitations and exceptions in the national legislation. Examples of limitations and exceptions include:.
Differing legal systems mean that under some systems, a clear list of limitations and exceptions to copyright is provided, whilst in others you may only find a general clause. This is usually because the term of copyright protection has expired. For example, the economic rights over the famous poem Odyssey, written by Homer, have lapsed and the work can be used or exploited without the need to obtain authorization or remunerate the right owner.
Find out more about works in the public domain. A common misperception is that works published on the Internet, including on social media platforms, are in the public domain and may therefore be widely used by anybody without the authorization of the right owner. Any works protected by copyright or related rights — ranging from musical compositions, to multimedia products, newspaper articles, and audiovisual productions — for which the time of protection has not expired, are protected regardless of whether they are published on paper or digitally.
In each case you should, generally, seek the authorization of the right owner prior to use. Some websites contain a general license that may exempt you from requiring a direct authorization for certain uses.
Such licenses may authorize only certain uses, for example some non-commercial uses. In practice, with regards to a text publicly available on a blog or a website for example, you may not use the text unless:. Similarly, authorization is required if your SME is engaged in publishing or making available copyright works, sound recordings, broadcasts or performances through your website.
Related or neighboring rights are a separate set of copyright-type rights given to certain persons or bodies that help make works available to the public. In other cases, you might need permission even though you credit. The content creator may set different terms for non-commercial use e. If I pay someone to create something for me, I own the copyright If the content creator is on staff, and the work is created during their employment as part of their job, usually the employer owns the copyright.
If, on the other hand, the content creator is an independent contractor, then they will usually retain copyright unless there is something in writing transferring copyright to you. If you have not made an agreement about how you may use the material, you would usually be entitled to use it for the purposes it was commissioned for, but may not be entitled to use it for other purposes.
It is a good idea to think about what will be easy to clear for use before you select the content. Depending on your need, Copyright Agency Viscopy may be able to assist you with a clearance.
You can find our video guides here. Legal Services we provide. Law school IP and entrepreneurship clinics list. Frequently Asked Questions about Copyright Law. How to find free music, images, and video you can use or remix in your own creative works. Stop unwanted texts and calls. Taking a few simple steps upfront to protect your business or project can save time and money down the road.
Professors can request a FREE evaluation copy. Skip to main content. What is copyright law, who created it, and why do people think we need it? Are clip art images copyrighted? The United States has copyright relations with most countries throughout the world, and as a result of these agreements, we honor each other's citizens' copyrights. However, the United States does not have such copyright relationships with every country.
For a listing of countries and the nature of their copyright relations with the United States, see Circular 38a , International Copyright Relations of the United States. What does copyright protect? When is my work protected?
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