Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Copyrights
Patents protect inventions that have some kind of useful value. Trademarks
must be commercially active. In contrast, copyright applies to creative works.
The key to copyright is that the work of art is expressive, not utilitar-
ian, nor useful. As explained by attorney and 3D printing expert Michael
Weinberg, “Objects that do things can't be protected by copyright. Useful is
drawn broadly. Clothing is a useful object. You can copyright a pattern on a
piece of clothing, but you can't copyright the cut.”
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Like a patent, a copyright gives a creator of original work exclusive rights
to it for a speciic period to time (the time period varies by country but a
typical time span is the life of the creator plus an additional 70 years.) People
or companies must ask permission of the copyright owner for the right to
reproduce or modify the work, to sell or lend the work, to publicly display the
work, or to perform the work in public. People do not need to ask permission
if they plan to use an original work for what's called “fair use,” for example,
in a classroom.
Unlike a patent, a copyright is not granted via a formal application process
by a central government agency. Copyright protection appears when a creative
work is ixed into some kind of medium. Governments offer formal copyright
registration. Though formal registration may be useful downstream to estab-
lish priority and ownership should a lawsuit arise, it isn't required.
People who hold copyright can attempt to combat infringement by suing
the alleged infringer. However, before kicking off a lawsuit, the copyright
holder must irst ask the alleged infringer to stop what they're doing, what's
called a “take down” notice. If an infringer didn't know she was infringing
and quickly takes down the copyrighted work, there will be no trouble. The
problem with this scenario is that frequently, the alleged infringer may not
actually be infringing, but most people don't want to go to court to ind out.
We suspect that one of the thorniest issues in future copyright battles will
be resolving what's known as “derivative works.” In copyright law, a derivative
work is a creative work that incorporates some previously published copy-
righted material. Translations are considered a derivative work. Parodies of
popular songs are a derivative work.
If you edit the design ile of an existing copyrighted object to make a new
object, at what point are you creating a derivative work, at what point are you
creating a fresh brand new work (meaning you're the creator)? Or, intention-
ally or not—are you just plain old ripping off somebody else's creative efforts?
