[http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/cx/CopyrightX:_Jamaica_2013 back to Jamaica Main Page]

== Copyright Term ==

'''US'''

At present in the United States, works that were created after 1978 are protected by copyright for a period of seventy years after the death of the author, except for works made for hire, which are protected for 120 years from creation, or 95 years from publication, whichever comes first.

'''Renewal Term'''

Pre-1978, under the 1909 Copyright Act, works were protected for an initial period of 28 years, and a "renewal term" of 28 years. The Copyright Act of 1976 extended the term, providing that works created prior to January 1, 1978 received an additional 19 years on the renewal term, bringing the total term of protection to 75 years. Works created after January 1, 1978 were protected for fifty years after the death of the author; works made for hire received a 75 year term. The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, passed in 1998, added another 20 years of protection (see above).

'''Termination'''

In order to protect the rights of authors, the Copyright Act of 1976 allows authors of pre-1978 works to terminate any grant of copyright (including assignment) made by the author or his heirs once the renewal term is expired and "recapture" the last 39 years of copyright (as extended by the Act). In other words, if you are the author (or certain heirs, in the case that the author dies) of a pre-1978 work, even if you irrevocably assigned the copyright in your work to someone else, you can terminate the assignment at the end of the original copyright renewal term (28 + 28 = 56) and exploit the work for your own benefit for the additional 39 years of protection granted by the 1976 Act. Of course, termination is complicated, and the assignee must be notified within statutorily prescribed times (not more than 10 years and not less than 2 years before expiration of the renewal term). If you miss this window, you may try again to terminate at the end of 75 years to recapture the last 20 years.

Additionally, post-1978 works also have a five year termination window beginning 35 years after the grant of copyright, in the case where the grant was made by the author (and not his heirs). Similar notification provisions apply (see above).

'''An Additional Wrinkle'''

If the author of a pre-1978 work dies before the renewal term, her heirs have the rights to the renewal term, even if the author has assigned or willed the copyright to someone else! In other words, if an author of a pre-1978 work assigns the copyright to a publisher in the initial 28 year term, and then dies before the expiration of the initial 28 year term, his heirs have the rights to the remaining 67 years. This applies also to derivative works - if, say, a motion picture is made (with permission from the author) based on a pre-1978 novel, and the author dies before the 28th year of the initial term, and his heirs do not wish to permit continued exploitation of the work in the derivative work, they may prevent it. If, however, the author dies in the 30th year (e.g. the second year of the 28 year renewal term), then the outcome is different.

'''Jamaica'''

In Jamaica, most works are protected for a period of fifty years after the death of the author (or, in the case of joint authors, the death of the last known author). If the author is unknown, a work is protected for fifty years from the date it was first made available to the public. However, three types of works receive different periods of protection: computer generated works receive protection for a period of fifty years from creation, and sound recordings and films receive fifty years from the year that it was made, or published (whichever comes first). See [[Media:JACopyrightAct.pdf Copyright Act, section 10]].

== Copyright Registration ==

In order to obtain copyright registration in the United States, a copyright owner must fill out a form, pay a small fee, and deposit two copies of the work with the Library of Congress. Registration is not required; however, in order to bring a copyright infringement suit, the work MUST be registered.

At present, Jamaica does not have a registration system; however, JIPO is testing a voluntary registration system that would, for a small fee, register a work by completing two forms and submitting a digital copy of the work. The copyright owner would then receive a Certificate of Registration. See article

== Additional Reading ==

[http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2012/04/article_0005.html WIPO Article on Termination in the US]

The Mechanics of Copyright-JA

2013-03-04T21:16:12Z

Shsai:

[http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/cx/CopyrightX:_Jamaica_2013 back to Jamaica Main Page]

== Copyright Term ==

'''US'''

At present in the United States, works that were created after 1978 are protected by copyright for a period of seventy years after the death of the author, except for works made for hire, which are protected for 120 years from creation, or 95 years from publication, whichever comes first.

'''Renewal Term'''

Pre-1978, under the 1909 Copyright Act, works were protected for an initial period of 28 years, and a "renewal term" of 28 years. The Copyright Act of 1976 extended the term, providing that works created prior to January 1, 1978 received an additional 19 years on the renewal term, bringing the total term of protection to 75 years. Works created after January 1, 1978 were protected for fifty years after the death of the author; works made for hire received a 75 year term. The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, passed in 1998, added another 20 years of protection (see above).

'''Termination'''

In order to protect the rights of authors, the Copyright Act of 1976 allows authors of pre-1978 works to terminate any grant of copyright (including assignment) made by the author or his heirs once the renewal term is expired and "recapture" the last 39 years of copyright (as extended by the Act). In other words, if you are the author (or certain heirs, in the case that the author dies) of a pre-1978 work, even if you irrevocably assigned the copyright in your work to someone else, you can terminate the assignment at the end of the original copyright renewal term (28 + 28 = 56) and exploit the work for your own benefit for the additional 39 years of protection granted by the 1976 Act. Of course, termination is complicated, and the assignee must be notified within statutorily prescribed times (not more than 10 years and not less than 2 years before expiration of the renewal term). If you miss this window, you may try again to terminate at the end of 75 years to recapture the last 20 years.

Additionally, post-1978 works also have a five year termination window beginning 35 years after the grant of copyright, in the case where the grant was made by the author (and not his heirs). Similar notification provisions apply (see above).

'''An Additional Wrinkle'''

If the author of a pre-1978 work dies before the renewal term, her heirs have the rights to the renewal term, even if the author has assigned or willed the copyright to someone else! In other words, if an author of a pre-1978 work assigns the copyright to a publisher in the initial 28 year term, and then dies before the expiration of the initial 28 year term, his heirs have the rights to the remaining 67 years. This applies also to derivative works - if, say, a motion picture is made (with permission from the author) based on a pre-1978 novel, and the author dies before the 28th year of the initial term, and his heirs do not wish to permit continued exploitation of the work in the derivative work, they may prevent it. If, however, the author dies in the 30th year (e.g. the second year of the 28 year renewal term), then the outcome is different.

'''Jamaica'''

In Jamaica, most works are protected for a period of fifty years after the death of the author (or, in the case of joint authors, the death of the last known author). If the author is unknown, a work is protected for fifty years from the date it was first made available to the public. However, three types of works receive different periods of protection: computer generated works receive protection for a period of fifty years from creation, and sound recordings and films receive fifty years from the year that it was made, or published (whichever comes first). See Copyright Act, section 10. [[Media:JACopyrightAct.pdf]]

== Copyright Registration ==

In order to obtain copyright registration in the United States, a copyright owner must fill out a form, pay a small fee, and deposit two copies of the work with the Library of Congress. Registration is not required; however, in order to bring a copyright infringement suit, the work MUST be registered.

At present, Jamaica does not have a registration system; however, JIPO is testing a voluntary registration system that would, for a small fee, register a work by completing two forms and submitting a digital copy of the work. The copyright owner would then receive a Certificate of Registration. See article

== Additional Reading ==

[http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2012/04/article_0005.html WIPO Article on Termination in the US]

File:JARegArticle.pdf

2013-03-04T21:14:28Z

Shsai:

Shsai:

Authorship

2013-02-26T15:42:32Z

Shsai: /* Please also read: */

== What is an “Author”? ==

'''Rights Ownership Rules: How to Determine the Original Rights Holder'''

The Berne Convention gives member countries broad flexibility in determining who is considered an author (and therefore the original copyright holder) of a literary or artistic work. Article 15(1) of the Convention provides:“In order that the author of a literary or artistic work protected by this Convention shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be regarded as such, and consequently be entitled to institute infringement proceedings in the countries of the Union, it shall be sufficient for his name to appear on the work in the usual manner. This paragraph shall be applicable even if this name is a pseudonym, where the pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no doubt as to his identity.”
The majority of civil law countries stipulate that only “persons” in the ordinary sense can qualify as authors. Spanish copyright law, for example, specifies “the natural person who creates any literary, artistic, or scientific work shall be considered the author thereof.” Similarly, French copyright law states that “authorship shall belong, unless proved otherwise, to the person or persons under whose name the work has been disclosed.” Common-law countries, by contrast, more often permit organizations -- including corporations -- to qualify as “authors.”

The author is often defined as the person who conceives of and gives expression to an idea. However, in some cases, this determination becomes more complicated. It may depend on who assists in the production of the work or who oversees and directs the arrangement of the details of the work. In such cases, the determination of authorship will depend on the facts of the specific case.

'''Works by Multiple Authors: Rules for Joint Authorship and Collaborations'''

Joint authorship exists when two or more persons create a copyrighted work. The copyright law in most countries grants each contributor an undivided share of the copyright in the work. The Berne Convention recognizes that joint authorship exists but does not specify the requirements for joint authorship, creating a significant variance among nations.
Countries in continental Europe typically stipulate that joint authorship does not require that each author contribute the same amount to the work. Instead, it only requires that each author’s contribution displays the minimal amount of creativity or originality necessary in the jurisdiction to merit copyright protection in its own right. Applying this approach, the Dutch Supreme Court decision Kluwer v. Lamoth, 169 R.I.D.A. 129 (1996), granted a stylist co-authorship status for creatively rearranging needleworks for a photograph.

In some countries, joint authorship only arises when each author’s contribution cannot be separated and commercially exploited independently of the work as a whole. For instance, Japanese legislation defines joint works as works that are “created by two or more persons in which the contribution of each person cannot be separately exploited.” If the works can be separated -- for instance, when one author contributes the music and another the lyrics for a song -- each contributor is typically given an independent copyright in his or her contribution. In other countries, like the United States, it is necessary that each of the contributors intend that the others should become joint authors.
In short, the rules on this issue vary substantially by country. In all countries, however, it is possible for two or more people to share a copyright.

'''Derivative Works'''

Derivative works consist of adaptations or modifications of preexisting works. Common examples include abridgments or motion-picture adaptations of novels. The Berne Convention does not explicitly refer to derivative works. Instead, it lists certain uses of copyrighted works for which member countries must provide copyright protection. Specifically, the Berne Convention Article 2, Section 3 states: “Translations, adaptations, arrangements of music and other alterations of a literary or artistic work shall be protected as original works without prejudice to the copyright of the original work.” This provision is incorporated into the TRIPS Agreement.
Although this standard protects specific types of derivative works, it does not specify how different a derivative work must be from the original in order to merit copyright protection. As a result, it is often unclear how much originality is required to obtain a new copyright. Suppose, for example, a sculptor creates a scale model of Rodin's famous "Tinker" -- which, because of its age -- has fallen into the public domain. How much different from the original sculpture must the scale model be in order to secure copyright protection? Courts struggle with this issue -- and have produced inconsistent decisions.

What if the original work from used to derivative work has not fallen into the public domain, and the maker of the derivative works fails to get a license from the holder of the copyright in the original? In some countries, like the United States, the unauthorized derivative work does not get any copyright protection. In other countries, like the Netherlands and France, the unauthorized derivative work is protected. This does not mean that the creator of the derivative work is free to make and sell copies of his creation. Rather, it means that other people (including the owner of the copyright in the original work) must obtain the permission of the creator of the derivative work before making or distributing copies of the derivative work.

'''Collective Works and Compilations'''

Compilations are another example where a copyright may be obtained through the use and manipulation of preexisting works. Compilations are works formed by assembling, selecting, or rearranging preexisting works such that the result becomes an original work by the compiler. Collective works represent a specific type of compilation in which a number of separate and independent contributions are assembled into one work. A collective work, then, is a work by two or more authors that is not cohesive enough to qualify as a joint work on its own. Article 2, Section 5 of the Berne Convention only requires the protection of collective works: “Collections of literary or artistic works such as encyclopedias and anthologies which, by reason of the selection and arrangement of their contents, constitute intellectual creations shall be protected as such, without prejudice to the copyright in each of the works forming part of such collections.”

Article 10, Section 2 of the TRIPS Agreement, on the other hand, requires member countries of the WTO to extend copyright protection to all compilations: “Compilations of data or other material, whether in machine readable or other form, which by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents constitute intellectual creations shall be protected as such. Such protection, which shall not extend to the data or material itself, shall be without prejudice to any copyright subsisting in the data or material itself.” The last sentence of this provision should be emphasized. Unless a database is created in a member country of the European Union (the only area that has created a sui generis system of protections for databases), other people are free to extract and copy the contents of the database. The only thing they may not do is reproduce the original way in which those contents are selected and arranged.

'''Employees and Works for Hire'''

Employees are often hired to create literary or artistic works for their employer. This relationship sometimes confuses the allocation of authorship rights.
By default, civil law countries vest authorship and its attendant rights in the employee, not the employer. This approach requires that employers contract with employees to obtain the copyrights to the creative works. For instance, the French Intellectual Property Code stipulates that copyright vests in the work’s actual author and not his employer. There is an exception in the French Code for some categories of work, such as software, where rights are immediately assigned to the employer. On the other hand, some civil law countries, including Germany, automatically assign copyright from the employee to the employer.

Common-law countries, such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, by default award the copyright for an employee's invention to her employer. For instance, Canadian copyright law states that if a work is created within the scope of employment, “the person by whom the author was employed shall, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, be the first holder of the copyright.” Under the British Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988, if a copyrighted work is made by an employee in the course of that employment, the copyright is automatically owned by the employer as a "work for hire." The United States has a similar rule, but also provides that a work may become a "work for hire" even if it is created by an independent contractor (rather than an employee acting within the scope of employment) so long as the work (a) falls within a limited list of eligible types of works and (b) the parties agree in writing that it shall be classified as a work for hire.

'''Civil Servants, Researchers and Professors'''

In some countries, college and university faculty members have been exempted from the "work for hire" doctrine.
In some countries, works made in the scope of the employment of civil servants are also excluded from the “work for hire” doctrine, because they are denied copyright protection altogether. In other countries, this is not true. For instance, copyright law in the Czech Republic contains a presumption that a work created by a civil servant is a work for hire, and the copyright and authorship rights are granted to the employer.

Excerpt from the EIFL Copyright Curriculum: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/copyrightforlibrarians/Module_3:_The_Scope_of_Copyright_Law#What_is_an_.E2.80.9CAuthor.E2.80.9D.3F

== Please also read: ==

http://www.sutherland.com/files/Publication/803e946d-83fe-4f38-8eaa-ec2fbf9b3782/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/11e6c1f9-66f4-4151-b480-251781227c39/WorkforHireLaws.pdf

and

http://williampatry.blogspot.com/2006/12/whiter-shade-of-joint-authorship.html

Authorship

2013-02-26T15:42:11Z

Shsai:

== What is an “Author”? ==

'''Rights Ownership Rules: How to Determine the Original Rights Holder'''

The Berne Convention gives member countries broad flexibility in determining who is considered an author (and therefore the original copyright holder) of a literary or artistic work. Article 15(1) of the Convention provides:“In order that the author of a literary or artistic work protected by this Convention shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be regarded as such, and consequently be entitled to institute infringement proceedings in the countries of the Union, it shall be sufficient for his name to appear on the work in the usual manner. This paragraph shall be applicable even if this name is a pseudonym, where the pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no doubt as to his identity.”
The majority of civil law countries stipulate that only “persons” in the ordinary sense can qualify as authors. Spanish copyright law, for example, specifies “the natural person who creates any literary, artistic, or scientific work shall be considered the author thereof.” Similarly, French copyright law states that “authorship shall belong, unless proved otherwise, to the person or persons under whose name the work has been disclosed.” Common-law countries, by contrast, more often permit organizations -- including corporations -- to qualify as “authors.”

The author is often defined as the person who conceives of and gives expression to an idea. However, in some cases, this determination becomes more complicated. It may depend on who assists in the production of the work or who oversees and directs the arrangement of the details of the work. In such cases, the determination of authorship will depend on the facts of the specific case.

'''Works by Multiple Authors: Rules for Joint Authorship and Collaborations'''

Joint authorship exists when two or more persons create a copyrighted work. The copyright law in most countries grants each contributor an undivided share of the copyright in the work. The Berne Convention recognizes that joint authorship exists but does not specify the requirements for joint authorship, creating a significant variance among nations.
Countries in continental Europe typically stipulate that joint authorship does not require that each author contribute the same amount to the work. Instead, it only requires that each author’s contribution displays the minimal amount of creativity or originality necessary in the jurisdiction to merit copyright protection in its own right. Applying this approach, the Dutch Supreme Court decision Kluwer v. Lamoth, 169 R.I.D.A. 129 (1996), granted a stylist co-authorship status for creatively rearranging needleworks for a photograph.

In some countries, joint authorship only arises when each author’s contribution cannot be separated and commercially exploited independently of the work as a whole. For instance, Japanese legislation defines joint works as works that are “created by two or more persons in which the contribution of each person cannot be separately exploited.” If the works can be separated -- for instance, when one author contributes the music and another the lyrics for a song -- each contributor is typically given an independent copyright in his or her contribution. In other countries, like the United States, it is necessary that each of the contributors intend that the others should become joint authors.
In short, the rules on this issue vary substantially by country. In all countries, however, it is possible for two or more people to share a copyright.

'''Derivative Works'''

Derivative works consist of adaptations or modifications of preexisting works. Common examples include abridgments or motion-picture adaptations of novels. The Berne Convention does not explicitly refer to derivative works. Instead, it lists certain uses of copyrighted works for which member countries must provide copyright protection. Specifically, the Berne Convention Article 2, Section 3 states: “Translations, adaptations, arrangements of music and other alterations of a literary or artistic work shall be protected as original works without prejudice to the copyright of the original work.” This provision is incorporated into the TRIPS Agreement.
Although this standard protects specific types of derivative works, it does not specify how different a derivative work must be from the original in order to merit copyright protection. As a result, it is often unclear how much originality is required to obtain a new copyright. Suppose, for example, a sculptor creates a scale model of Rodin's famous "Tinker" -- which, because of its age -- has fallen into the public domain. How much different from the original sculpture must the scale model be in order to secure copyright protection? Courts struggle with this issue -- and have produced inconsistent decisions.

What if the original work from used to derivative work has not fallen into the public domain, and the maker of the derivative works fails to get a license from the holder of the copyright in the original? In some countries, like the United States, the unauthorized derivative work does not get any copyright protection. In other countries, like the Netherlands and France, the unauthorized derivative work is protected. This does not mean that the creator of the derivative work is free to make and sell copies of his creation. Rather, it means that other people (including the owner of the copyright in the original work) must obtain the permission of the creator of the derivative work before making or distributing copies of the derivative work.

'''Collective Works and Compilations'''

Compilations are another example where a copyright may be obtained through the use and manipulation of preexisting works. Compilations are works formed by assembling, selecting, or rearranging preexisting works such that the result becomes an original work by the compiler. Collective works represent a specific type of compilation in which a number of separate and independent contributions are assembled into one work. A collective work, then, is a work by two or more authors that is not cohesive enough to qualify as a joint work on its own. Article 2, Section 5 of the Berne Convention only requires the protection of collective works: “Collections of literary or artistic works such as encyclopedias and anthologies which, by reason of the selection and arrangement of their contents, constitute intellectual creations shall be protected as such, without prejudice to the copyright in each of the works forming part of such collections.”

Article 10, Section 2 of the TRIPS Agreement, on the other hand, requires member countries of the WTO to extend copyright protection to all compilations: “Compilations of data or other material, whether in machine readable or other form, which by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents constitute intellectual creations shall be protected as such. Such protection, which shall not extend to the data or material itself, shall be without prejudice to any copyright subsisting in the data or material itself.” The last sentence of this provision should be emphasized. Unless a database is created in a member country of the European Union (the only area that has created a sui generis system of protections for databases), other people are free to extract and copy the contents of the database. The only thing they may not do is reproduce the original way in which those contents are selected and arranged.

'''Employees and Works for Hire'''

Employees are often hired to create literary or artistic works for their employer. This relationship sometimes confuses the allocation of authorship rights.
By default, civil law countries vest authorship and its attendant rights in the employee, not the employer. This approach requires that employers contract with employees to obtain the copyrights to the creative works. For instance, the French Intellectual Property Code stipulates that copyright vests in the work’s actual author and not his employer. There is an exception in the French Code for some categories of work, such as software, where rights are immediately assigned to the employer. On the other hand, some civil law countries, including Germany, automatically assign copyright from the employee to the employer.

Common-law countries, such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, by default award the copyright for an employee's invention to her employer. For instance, Canadian copyright law states that if a work is created within the scope of employment, “the person by whom the author was employed shall, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, be the first holder of the copyright.” Under the British Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988, if a copyrighted work is made by an employee in the course of that employment, the copyright is automatically owned by the employer as a "work for hire." The United States has a similar rule, but also provides that a work may become a "work for hire" even if it is created by an independent contractor (rather than an employee acting within the scope of employment) so long as the work (a) falls within a limited list of eligible types of works and (b) the parties agree in writing that it shall be classified as a work for hire.

'''Civil Servants, Researchers and Professors'''

In some countries, college and university faculty members have been exempted from the "work for hire" doctrine.
In some countries, works made in the scope of the employment of civil servants are also excluded from the “work for hire” doctrine, because they are denied copyright protection altogether. In other countries, this is not true. For instance, copyright law in the Czech Republic contains a presumption that a work created by a civil servant is a work for hire, and the copyright and authorship rights are granted to the employer.

Excerpt from the EIFL Copyright Curriculum: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/copyrightforlibrarians/Module_3:_The_Scope_of_Copyright_Law#What_is_an_.E2.80.9CAuthor.E2.80.9D.3F

== Please also read: ==

http://www.sutherland.com/files/Publication/803e946d-83fe-4f38-8eaa-ec2fbf9b3782/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/11e6c1f9-66f4-4151-b480-251781227c39/WorkforHireLaws.pdf

and

http://williampatry.blogspot.com/2006/12/whiter-shade-of-joint-authorship.html