Trademark, copyright, and patent laws do not apply to creative works in the public domain. Rather than a single author or artist, the public possesses these creations. Using a public domain work does not require consent, but nobody can claim ownership of it (Stanford Libraries, 2017). Copyright expiration, failure to obey copyright renewal laws, placement in the public realm by the copyright owner voluntarily, dedication, or a lack of copyright protection for a field of work are four systematic ways that writings end up in the public domain.
An author’s ‘creative liberty’ frequently loses out to intellectual property rights. For example, copyright gives the exclusive rights holder the ability to prevent others from creating copies of their work without permission. Writers and other content producers benefit financially from their work because copyright protects the author’s expression (Wadie, 2019). Before using someone else’s copyrighted work, unless it is regarded as ‘fair use,’ the copyright owner must give written consent. Only the copyright holder or anyone acting on their behalf, such as publishers, can provide that license under federal law. Legal issues may arise if persons do not have written consent. The use of another person’s words, pictures, photos, graphs, or charts in a published work carries the possibility of infringing on their copyright, even if it is not always an infringement.
For applications such as commentary, critique, news reporting, and research reports, excerpts from work may be used as per the fair use philosophy of the US copyright statute. The usage of a precise number of words, musical notes, or percentages of work is not restricted by law. Several factors determine whether a given usage falls under the definition of fair use. Fair use would be any unauthorized utilization of a work protected by copyright for critical commentary, parody, or satire. When a work of art critiques another, generally well-known work, it does so by making light of it in some way. Copyright owners do not have to give permission for such uses (Stanford Libraries, 2017). Fair usage might be used as an argument in favor of the copyright owner. One’s use of the material does not constitute an infringement in the case of fair use.
When composing a book review, for example, one can employ fair use principles to replicate some of the original work to accomplish their goals. In a news report, one might summarize and quote from an article on prostate cancer or copy a few sentences from a news story for the classroom’s lesson plans (Wadie, 2019). A person might even copy an item from a magazine for proceedings about the subject matter. However, teachers are prohibited from photocopying the complete textbook, even for non-profit educational purposes like showing it to the students as a component of a lesson plan.
There are many variables to examine when assessing whether an infringement is a fair use or work in the public domain. Using the material for non-commercial purposes is firmly in favor of establishing fair use. When the primary motivation for use is a desire for financial benefit, violations are more likely to occur. Using copyrighted work only for commercial purposes is a red flag for contravening fair use. Similarly, the public good or educational value of exploiting someone else’s work without asking permission is a strong argument in favor of its allowed application.
References
Stanford Libraries. (2017). Copyright and fair use. Web.
Wadie, M. (2019). Notion of fair use determinants: A comparative study. Journal of Intellectual Property and Innovation Management, 2(2), 73-97. Web.