Q: What is a copyright?
A: Copyrights serve to protect original written and artistic expressions. The creator of a work owns the copyright to use it; others must get permission from the creator to use their work(s). Goldberg said to think of copyright as 'intellectual property.' Copyright law protects literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, motion picture, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, audio and visual works of authorship. The goal of copyright laws is to encourage creativity.
Q: What is considered “original?”
A: A work is original if it’s independently created and has a minimum degree of creativity.
Q: What is a trademark?
A: Trademarks protect company or product logos, slogans and designs. Billionaire Donald Trump’s catchphrase, “You’re Fired,” is trademarked.
Q: What is the difference between copyright and trademark?
A: A copyright belongs to the creator of the work, whereas a trademark belongs to the person or business who creates/markets a product.
Q: What is plagiarism?
A: Plagiarism is using any five or more words someone else has used in a work. This also applies to music lyrics and beats. Goldberg's examples were George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" plagarizing the melody of The Chiffons' "He's So Fine," which turned into a lawsuit, and Vanilla Ice's "Ice, Ice, Baby" sampling the definable riffs from Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure."
Q: What is fair use?
A: Fair use is a defense to review whether or not the reproduction of a work is considered "fair." There are four factors to consider when determining whether or not a particular use of a work is fair:
- The purpose and character of the copyright use
- The nature of the use
- The amount/substantiality
- The effect on the market for value
Goldberg said do not rely on fair use, because it is hard to tell the difference between “fair use” and infringement. The best route is to get permission from the copyright owner.
