IPL 3 - Copyright Law Basics

Copyright protects original, authorial works and some non-authorial works, but not ideas, procedures or concepts.

Original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works.

Copyright protects certain works that are not originally created by the owner (entrepreneur) of the copyright.

A work must be fixed in a tangible form to be protected by copyright (written, recorded).

Copyright ownership can be transferred through legally binding agreements (assignments or licenses).

Ideas, concepts, discoveries, procedures, and methods are NOT protected by copyright, even with novel approaches.

The steps in a recipe are not protected by copyright, but the written recipe (story, details, instructions) is protectable as a literary work if properly expressed.

Copyright protection is limited to specific categories of works (e.g., Literary, musical, artistic). If a work doesn't fall into one of these, it isn't copyrightable.

Copyright protection requires a tangible, physical or digital record of the creative work.

Copyright is separate from the physical medium it's recorded on. Losing the medium doesn't mean losing the copyright.

Copyright rights associated with a creative work (like a movie) can exist separately, such as film, sound recording, poster etc.

Copyright protection is created by laws, not common law.

In some instances, copyright protection is present immediately upon creation of a copyrightable work.

In some jurisdictions, registering a copyright can help with proving ownership or for use in legal proceedings.

The essential requirements for copyright protection vary based on local copyright laws, but frequently include fixation and creation of original creative work

Fixation examples include recording on physical media or digitally.

Different aspects of a creative work can legally be protected separately by copyright.

Copyright Law (statute) is the legal basis for copyright protection; common law does not establish copyright protection in most jurisdictions.

Generally, the author or creator of a work owns the copyright. This is the default rule, but exceptions exist.

When an employee creates a work during their employment, the employer typically owns the copyright, not the employee.

Under older copyright law, the person commissioning a work often had the right to ownership, even if they weren't the creator.

The current copyright law states that the person who created a commissioned work owns the copyright, not the person who commissioned it.

Copyright ownership can be transferred legally by an assignment. This can be for the entire copyright or just specific rights.

The requirement for a work to be eligible for copyright protection.

A work created by a human author(s) that isn't copied, but involves intellectual effort, not just mechanical work.

Legal tie between the copyrighted work and Singapore (e.g., author's residency, publication location, reciprocating country).

Copyright protected works that have been published.

Author qualifying for copyright in Singapore if they were a resident or citizen when work was published.

A country with a copyright agreement where copyright application from that country would also apply to Singapore.

The requirement that a work be independently created by humans and not copied.

The human creative input necessary for a work to be original.

The Copyright Act doesn't precisely define originality, but case law suggests it requires a human author and intellectual effort, not just mechanical aspects.

Cases involving disputes about connecting factors (linking Singapore to the work) are rare because most countries generally meet existing copyright criteria.

Originality in a work, for copyright purposes, does not mean creating something entirely new; important alterations or embellishments to a previously existing work can grant originality to the new one.

Changes to a pre-existing work that significantly impact its character and content, granting new originality to the derived work.

In copyright law, an author is a human individual, not a company or other entity.

The process of recording or embodying a creative work in a tangible form (e.g., writing, recording).

Literary, dramatic, and musical works must be in a written or physical form to qualify for copyright protection (explicit requirement).

Artistic works require implicit evidence of existence to be protected by copyright (don't need physical form for copyright, but still need to exist in some way).

Copyright ownership is crucial because only the owner can exercise rights granted under copyright law.

The standard rule of copyright ownership, which outlines the initial holder of the copyright.

Copyright law prioritizes human authors, differentiating them from corporate and other organizational entities.