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Policies: Copyright and Multimedia
Multimedia is currently defined as a product that combines a variety of types of media, such as textual materials, music, digitized images, film, television and graphics.
As a general rule, one should remember that the medium is not the issue. The copying or performing of a third part work is the issue. The copyright owner has five rights under U.S. Copyright Law:
- To reproduce
- To distribute
- To publicly perform
- To publicly display
- To modify (technically "creative derivative" works)
These rights do not change merely because the format changes. Although technology makes copying and alteration easier, it does not mean that it is permitted. Newsday , for example, was sued for $1.2 million by FPG International for altering and using a stock FPG International photo on the cover of the magazine without permission of FPG International.
Here are some guidelines for developing a multimedia work followed by questions and answers concerning specific situations.
Advice on Developing a Multimedia Work
- Before developing a multimedia work, decide what you are going to do with it. (You will need different rights for CD-ROMS and online use). You will need different rights if you intend to broadcast the work, either for distance education or on public television.
- Determine what rights need to be acquired, identify the copyright owners, request permission for all copyright owners in writing , and maintain files of these permissions.
- Realize that copyright owners have a right to financial gain from any proposed use (except fair use) and that, in this new area, they are very concerned about misuse of their work.
- Make sure that the rights acquired really belong to the person or company that is "selling" them, and obtain a written license of the rights. You should be willing to ask questions to make sure the person or company actually has the rights it claims; unfortunately, even large companies may not know whether they have rights to exploit a work in this new area.
- Recognize that this process will take longer than you think. 6. Have an alternative to the materials you want, and be prepared to use the alternative. 7. Be prepared to list the copyright owner in the credits, although merely citing the owner does not excuse the need to acquire the rights. 8. Remember that an individual's image is protected under privacy and publicity law, which is different from copyright law. Secondly, cartoon and other "characters" (such as Mickey Mouse and Charlie Chaplin's "Tramp") are protected by trademark as well as copyright. Images originally created for one purpose cannot always be used for another purpose without permission. Thus, a developer must check to see whether additional permission is needed. Third, the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 amended the Copyright Law to provide another protection to artists for certain types of art created on or after June 1, 1991. These works are generally those of "high" art: drawings, prints, still photographs (limited to those created for "exhibition purposes"), sculptures, and drawings. The works must be either unique or limited editions of 200 or fewer that are signed and consecutively numbered. The Act focused on two areas of moral rights: integrity and attribution. The right of integrity will allow artists to stop modification or destruction of their work that would be prejudicial to their reputations under certain circumstances. The attribution right permits each artist to prevent his or her name from being associated with a work if it has been modified or distorted. It also allows an artist to disown or claim authorship of a work. An artist , however, may waive these rights through a signed statement.
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