Copyright Infringement

Copyright Infringement

• If you create something - an idea, an invention, a form of literary work, or a research, you have the right as to how it should be used by others. This is called intellectual property. In other words, the copyright law includes your rights over your work, and anyone who uses it without your consent is punishable by law. Try grabbing any book then browse its first few pages and you will find a page with a disclaimer with the words: "No part of this book may be copied, reproduced..." That is a copyright page.

Here are some tips that could help you avoid copyright infringement:

1. Understand. Copyright protects literary works, photographs, paintings, drawings, films, music (and lyrics), choreography, and sculptures, but it generally does NOT protect underlying ideas and facts. This means that you can express something using your own words, but you should give credit to the source.

2. Be responsible. Even if a material does not say that it is copyrighted, it is not a valid defense against copyright. Be responsible enough to know if something has a copyright.

3. Be creative. Ask yourself whether what you are making is something that came from you or something made from somebody else's creativity. It is important to add your own creative genius in everything that will be credited to you.

4. Know the law. There are some limitations to copyright laws. For instance in the Philippines, copyrights only last a lifetime (of the author) plus 50 years. There are also provisions for “fair use" which mean that an intellectual property may be used without a consent as long as it is used in commentaries, criticisms, search engines, parodies, news reports, research, library archiving, teaching, and education. If you have doubts that what you are doing does not fall under the policy of fair use, seek permission first. Another misconception is that fanfiction (Wattpad) is not copyright infringement. In reality, it is and some copyright holders ignore them but they can optional use their rights.