In general copyright is defined as the form of intellectual property.

Researchers outline three main types of copyright infringement: 1) Violations caused by people who do not know about copyright (30% of all violations) 2) Violations caused by people who know about copyright, but do not want to know how to comply with copyright (30%) 3) Violations caused by people who intend to violate copyright(30%) 4) others (the remaining 10%).

Copyright laws usually refer to creative works and are most often applied to works of authorship; the main categories of such works identified in copyright law are: 1. literary works; 2. musical works, including any accompanying words; 3. dramatic works, including any accompanying music; 4. pantomimes and choreographic works; 5. pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; 6. motion pictures and other audiovisual works; 7. sound recordings; 8. architectural works. Therefore copyright infringement can also be divided into types according to these copyright categories. A separate domain of copyright infringement is software copyright violation. Here the following types of infringement can be distinguished: 1) creating a copy of a software and selling it 2) creating a copy of a software and giving it to another person 3) creating a copy and leaving it as a backup can also be considered a copyright infringement depending on laws and agreements of a particular state and country 4) renting the purchased copy of the software 5) reselling the original software can also be considered a copyright infringement. It is important to note that copyright covers not the idea of a work of art but the particular expression of the idea; there is a major problem connected with copyright infringement it is that a lot of musicians, artists, other creators receive their inspiration from other works, and it is rather difficult to measure the degree of inspiration from real copyright infringement. Copyright infringement is usually claimed where the copied and/or distributed information is used for proprietary or commercial purpose. With the development of technical means of production, electronic mediums etc. the protection of copyright has become more difficult. Even taking into consideration the numerous laws and organizations acting against copyright infringement (for example, MPAA), the level of

unauthorized copying is still high; MP3 and movie copying in Internet, and especially software copyright violations are rather wide-spread. If it is determined that someone is guilty of copyright infringement, there are several kinds of penalties that can be applied to this person; they are: a court order to stop using and/or producing the copyrighted material, confiscation of the materials, and finally, paying the copyright owner certain remedies. The main types of damages that the copyright owner may demand to cover from the copyright infringer are the following: infringer profits, punitive damages, copyright owner losses, statutory damages, and in some cases attorneys fees. What can be done to avoid copyright infringement, if its necessary to use some part of the work? A right to use the copyrighted material can be acquired by purchasing a license or signing a contract with the author of the copyrighted material; the other way is to wait until the copyright expires, and/or when the work becomes a public domain (i.e. when no person or organization will have a proprietary interest in it).

Copyright in a work is deemed to be infringed: When any person without a license from the owner of the copyright or the Registrar of Copyright (in certain situations) or in contravention of the conditions of a license. (i) Does anything the exclusive right to do which belongs to the copyright owner, or (ii) Knowingly permits for profit any place to be used for the performance of the work in public which continues an infringement of the work, or When any person, makes for sale or hire, or sells or lets for hire or offers for sale or hire, or exhibits in public for trade or import (except two copies other than cinematography film or record for personal use) any infringing copies of the week. In general it is the commercial exploitation of the work in any form by a person without authority that constitutes infringement. Acts not constituting infringement: The Copyright Act provides certain exceptions to infringement. The object of these provisions is to enable the encouragement of private study and research and promotion of education. They provide defenses in an action for infringement. The exceptions come under the following categories: (i) Reproduction for use in judicial proceedings and for use of members of the legislature, (ii) Publication of short passages, restricted reproduction or performance for educational purposes,

(iii) Making of records under license from Copyright Board on payment of royalty, (iv) Playing of records or performance by a club or society for the benefit of the members of religious institutions, (v) Reproduction of an article on current economic, political, social or religious matters in newspapers, magazines etc, (vi) Reproduction of a few copies for use in libraries or for research or private study, (vii) Matters published in official gazettes including Act of Parliament (subject to certain conditions) or its translation, (viii) Making of a drawing, engraving or photograph of an architectural B work of art, or a sculpture kept in a public place, (ix) Use of artistic work in a cinematography film, (x) Use of an artistic work (author not the owner of copyright) by the author of any mould, cast, sketch, plan, model, etc., made by him for the work, (xi) Making of an object in three dimension of an artistic work in two dimensions subject to certain condition, and (xii) Reconstruction of a building in accordance with architectural drawings. (xiii) Fair dealing without commercial benefits. Copyright law does not prevent a person from taking what is useful from an original work and create a new work with additions and improvements. Under the guise of a copyright the owner of a copyright cannot ask the court to close all the venues of research and scholarship and all frontiers of human knowledge. There are three kinds of remedies against infringement of copyright, namely: Civil remedies: Injunction damages or account of profit, delivery of infringing copy and damages for conversion. Criminal remedies: Imprisonment of the accused or imposition of fine or both. Seizure of infringing copies. Administrative remedies:

Administrative remedies consist of moving the Registrar of copyrights to ban the import of infringing copies into India when the infringement is by way of such importation and the delivery of the confiscated infringing copies to the owner of the copyright and seeking the delivery. Jurisdiction of courts: A suit or other civil proceedings relating to infringement of copyright is filed in the District Court or Appellate Board within whose jurisdiction the plaintiff resides or carries on business or where the cause of action arose irrespective of the place of residence or place of business of the defendant Limitation: The period of limitation for filing the suit is three years from the date of infringement.
Copyright is a universal law created to protect authors of original creations.It promotes the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.( U.S Constitution, Article 1, Section 8). It grants the authors exclusive ownership and legally allows them to deny others the privilege of using their works. Copyright can be placed on anything in tangible medium such as; literary, artistic, dramatic or architectual works, however, it doesnt cover material in the public domain. It was first introduced in 1790, although most creations before the twentieth century were not copyrighted. The basic length of copyright is determined by adding seventy years onto the lifespan of the author. It cannot be renewed. This essay will focus on three main aspects of Internet Copyright. Firstly, it will discuss existing copyright laws, secondly it will analyse copyright infringements on these laws and finally it will discuss the importance of knowing and understanding copyright. Copyright laws on the Internet differ in each country but they tend to cover the same principles. The act of Fair Dealing allows people to use a part of an original document without the permission of the author, however, the author of the original work and the source from which it originated must be cited. It must be a reasonable amount used only for research, teaching, critisicm or comment with no financial gain. In the case of copying pictures or photographs, permission from the owner must always be sought with the exception of four things; it is owned by the government, was published before 1922 and registered at a Copyright office, advertised as free or in the public domain. The failure to comply by these regulations is known as plagairism. Laws relating to software are very simple. One copy of the program is allowed to be stored on a computer and one back up disc can be made, any more copies made or distributed are illegal and referred to as software piracy. Profit made by registering other peoples trademarks as ones own is called Cyber squatting and although not as easy or as common anymore, it is still illegal. These laws protect original work and present businesses with the opportunity of advancement. They allow the public to use or view works within limits and are a small requirement for the vast amount of information available on the internet. Infringements on Copyright, although being a federal offence, are common practices on the internet Software piracy is a worldwide problem. Software companies are launching more and more lawsuits against major infractors.( Webopedia, 2003, p. 1) Software is easy to duplicate therefore making it vunerable to infringement. Share ware attempts to lower piracy by encouraging users to supply others with copies in the hope that they will enjoy it enough to buy the full version or pay a small monthly fee directly to the author. Illegally copying software doesnt just affect the company but the user aswell as they recieve no documentation, customer support or update information on products. Piracy diminishes the worth of a program and proves difficult for small companies to stay in business. Cyber squatting is in illegal practice, common around the time of the birth of the Internet. Businesses were unaware of the Internets potential so people thought registering a well known trademark and waiting until the rightful owner realized the internets power would be profitable as they could sell the domain name back to the rightful owner . Panasonic, Avon and Hertz were all victims of cyber squatting. Today, the importance of having a domain name is common knowledge thus diminishing the number of cyber squatters rapidly.

Plagairism is the most common illegal practice on the internet. Plagairism is very easy to do but doesnt come without its consequences. Plagairisers are easily found on the internet with search engines, enabling authors to locate improper copies of their work and rightly prosecuting the offender/s. Plagairism also includes forwarding an email in which the intnded use has been altered.Students found to commit any of these face lowered marks, failure and even expulsion from schools. Infringement on Copyright is a violation of the law and property rights of the authors and deprives them of due credit of their hard work and efforts and can evolve into a costly court case. It is of paramount importance to know and understand the laws of copyright. Abiding by the rules can literally save people millions of dollars. Copyright is a protection act and to defy it is to defy others the right to display their work and to receive credit on their achievements. As mentioned earlier, knowing these laws can be the difference beween passing a course or being diqualified. It is an incentive for students and the general population to create something original and share it with the rest of the world. Most importantly knowing and understanding these laws enables the system to run smoother and creates space for people to better their work. Internet Copyright is a valued law which is not taken seriously enough. Infringing Copyright is unfair on everybody. It inhibits innovation, diminishes the value of an artistswork, makes it harder on businesses and dissolves the credit to artists for their hard work, time and effort to produce work which is there for everyone to enjoy. Stronger laws and penalties will have to be introduced if Copyright infringement is going to lower or stop. Cd and DVD burners on the market and in computers contradict the regulations of copyright, almost making it legal to defy it. Why buy a product when it can be produced for a tenth of the cost? Why not copy information from the internet- who is going to find out? The internet is the biggest threat to copyright and with these unresolved issues its future appears unsuccessful.

Copyright infringement is not an easy thing to explain. While it may seem as simple as not using someone elses work, its not that easy. Thanks to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and many other organizations, we have the ability to use others works as long as we use it under Fair Use laws. So what does Fair Use have to do with copyright infringement, and how can you utilize it? Fair Use laws allow us to use a copyrighted work without having to pay someone royalties. This includes using a copyrighted work for educational or instructional uses, criticism of the work, commentaries on the work, news reporting about the work, teaching on the work (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship uses, and research. This is talked about fully in Section 107 of the Copyright Code (commonly called Fair Use) and is available for you to read at your local library. Copyright Infringement in day-to-day life Sometimes, if youre writing a paper for work or school, or if you are creating a Power Point presentation, yo u need to use someones work that is already in copyright. So how do you use it without committing copyright infringement? All you have to do is ask the worst they can say is no, right? But, if they do say no, there are several items in the public domain which may help you to finish your project without having to commit copyright infringement. What is the public domain, and how does it relate to copyright infringement? Material that is not copyrighted is considered in the public domain. You cannot commit copyright infringement on works in the public domain. These works include things that the copyright has expired on, or is not copyrightable such as government publications, jokes, titles, and ideas. Some creators (writers, musicians, artists, and more) deliberately put their work in the public domain, without ever obtaining copyright, by providing

an affiliation with Creative Commons. Creative Commons allows people who create materials to forfeit some, or all, of their copyright rights and place their work either partially or fully in the public domain. So, how do I ensure Im not committing copyright infringement? First of all, if youre going to use someone elses material, you may want to check the public domain to see if something is suitable for use, instead of trying to use someone elses copyright. However, if you cant find something suitable (and you cant create something yourself), the next best thing (and your only legal course of action) is to find a piece that is in copyright, and contacting the copyright holder. When you contact the copyright holder, make sure you tell them what you want to use their piece for whether its for your blog, podcast, or report and ask if you can use it. You may have to pay royalties, or an attribution in your piece, or a combination of both. The creator may also place many limitations on when and how you can use their material. Follow all these instructions they give you, and youll be free and clear to use their work as you want. Once you have permission to use a copyrighted work, you need to make sure you stay within the agreed-upon boundaries. If you veer outside their agreed terms, you may open yourself up for a copyright infringement lawsuit, which can be nasty, costly, and time consuming. If youre in doub t, before contacting the copyright holder, contact a copyright lawyer to ensure youre following the law and protect yourself! QUESTION: If you hear a great new band, and then download a song from MySpace, is that legal or not? ANSWER: The events of copyright infringement are not only limited by Kazaa, Morpheus, or some other file sharing peer to peer (P2P) service. If you download a song no matter if youre on a website or a MySpace page and it isnt coming from the artist themselves, you may want to think about downloading it. Chances are, if its not coming from them, you cant have it unless it is under a Creative Commons License. Creative Commons gives the exact ways in which you can use the license and many times those are completely free and legal to download, so make sure you check if its under a CC License. QUESTION: If Im writing a paper, or article, and I want to quote another website, can I? ANSWER: First of all, did you know the minute you write or create something, you hold the copyright to it? ESPECIALLY if youre writing it online its very easy to track things on the Internet. So, if youre writing a blog, all the things youve written (no matter good or bad) are recorded, thanks to Archive.org, which lets you review last versions of your web pages. Sometimes, we can use someone elses work in our own, and think were small and anonymous. That no one will notice by the time you get it down youre just borrowing it. Before you begin quoting anyones website from CNN to your local neighborhood hardware store you need to ask the person who holds the copyright if you can. Usually, theyll let you if you attribute to them. Depending who you talk to, youll either have to pay royalties or license rights to republish. If you dont ask before you quote, youre beginning the events of copyright infringement and you are opening yourself up for a lawsuit.