The issue of copyright and ownership of material is an ever-expanding issue growing in complexity and convolution. This is largely due to the technological revolution and the expansion of digital technologies.
So what is copyright and what does it constitute? According to the Australian Government: ‘Copyright is a type of property that is founded on a person’s creative skill and labor.’ You cannot copyright an idea, but only the form that the idea takes. ‘The sole purpose of copyright is to prevent the unauthorised use by others of a work, that is, the original form in which an idea or information has been expressed by the creator.’ It is forbidden under the Copyright Act to use a copyright work without permission granted by copyright owner. http://www.ag.gov.au/Copyright/Pages/Whatiscopyright.aspx
There are however, some exemptions to the Copyright Law. The notion of Fair use was implemented to act as an exception to the copyright law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holder. However, there are general rules regarding fair use that must be adhered to; these rules relate to:
- The nature of the work borrowed
- The amount borrowed
- The effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
- The purpose and character of the work.
The regulation of the Copyright Law is becoming increasingly difficult to authorise; this is largely due to the expansion of digital technologies. The impact of the digital revolution in the way we communicate, upload and distribute data has been profound. The process of digitalisation allows the conversion of materials from analogue to digital form which can be transmitted, re distributed copied and stored over various channels. It is essential that legal rules are amended and applied appropriately, to ensure that emerging digital technology does not undermine the regulation of copyright and related rights.
A recent high profile copyright war has erupted between social networking giants Yahoo and Facebook. The Sydney Morning Herald reports, “Yahoo has accused Facebook of infringing ten patents related to Internet advertising and information sharing.” According to the Yahoo’s complaint “Facebook’s entire social network model, is based on Yahoo’s patented social networking technology”. Yahoo said in February “Facebook must license its technology, pointing out that other web companies have licensed its intellectual property”. It is also worth noting that “Yahoo lost its No.1 spot to Facebook last year in the US market for display advertising” and is trailing Google in web searches. http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/business-it/yahoo-files-patent-lawsuit-against-facebook-20120313-1ux1m.html This article begs the question; does Yahoo really have a leg to stand on? Or is this just a bitter ploy to regain lost revenue?
The shift to a new digital era has reinforced the need for amendments to be made to the current Copyright Law. With Internet regulation extremely difficult and the distribution and flow of content easily accessible, Is it time for a review of the current Copyright Law? Or has it lost its value in today’s digitalized society?
clebrocque 