Media and Info: Legal and Ethical Issues

Legal, Ethical, and Societal Issues in Media and Information

• Intellectual Property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, essential for human civilization and societal development, requiring safeguards.
• IP is legally protected through patents, copyrights, and trademarks, allowing creators to gain recognition and financial benefits.
• The IP system balances innovators' interests with broad public interests to encourage creativity and innovation.
• The general rule to be granted such rights is FIRST TO FILE REGISTRATION

Types of Intellectual Property

• Trade Secrets: Protect secret information, e.g., new inventions, Coke formula.
• Trademarks: Protect brands, e.g., Apple for cell phones.
• Copyrights: Protect works of authorship, e.g., books, movies, drawings.
• Patents: Protect functional or ornamental features, e.g., swipe feature on iPhone design.

Trademark

• A trademark, or logo, is a distinctive sign that identifies goods/services from a specific entity.
• Trademark origins trace back to ancient times when craftsmen marked their works with signatures.
• Trademarks can be words, letters, numerals, drawings, symbols, or 3D signs.
• Traditional and non-traditional marks (holograms, motion, color, sound, smell) are registrable in some countries.
• Trademarks protect brand names and logos, and prevent consumer confusion.
• Logos cannot be copyrighted but are covered by trademark.
• Trademarks serve to identify the source of goods/services to consumers.
• Trademarks can last perpetually, unlike copyrights. Trademarks must be in commercial use to remain protected.

Copyright and Related Rights

• Copyright laws protect literary and artistic creations as "works."
• "Related rights" are similar to copyright but can be more limited in scope or duration.
• Beneficiaries of related rights include performers, phonogram producers, and broadcasting organizations.
• Copyright holders have the exclusive right to use/authorize their work in various forms.
• Right holders can authorize or prohibit reproduction, public performances, translation, broadcasting or adaptation.
• Copyright law applies to original works and derivative works.
• Derivative Works adhere to any subsisting copyright, and do not extend copyright of original work.

Copyright Ownership

• The creator of literary/artistic work generally owns the copyright, with exceptions.
• In Work for Hire situations, an employee owns copyright if the creation is outside regular duties.
• Employers own the copyright if the work is part of regular duties, unless otherwise agreed.
• For commissioned works ownership resides with the commissioner but copyright remains with the creator without written agreement.
• For audio/visual pieces, the producer, scenario author, composer, film director and adapted work author owns it.

Types of Rights

• Economic Rights:
  • Rights to financial remuneration from reproduction, transformation, rental, public display or some other means.
• Moral Rights:
  • Right of Attribution: Right to be credited.
  • Right of Alteration: Right to alter the work.
  • Right of Integrity: Right to object to derogatory treatment of work.
  • Right to Restrain: Right of the creator to restrain use of their name.
• Copyright remains active for the owner/creator's lifetime plus 50 year after death in the Philippines.
• After the copyright term, the work enters into the public domain.
• Selling or lending works in a way that violates Economic and moral rights infringes copyright law.
• Creator should apply for Certificate of Registration

Fair Use

• Fair use factors include the purpose/character of use, nature of the copyrighted work, amount/substantiality of the portion used, and effect on the market value.
• Fair use includes criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.
• Moral rights, unlike economic rights, cannot be sold
• Moral Rights of Attribution must give due credit at all times
• Creative Commons gives people permission to use under Fair Use Terms.
• Public domain means material is already free to use without considering copyright
• Orphan works are works with owners that cannot be traced back.
• Creative Common re-use is permitted without permission
• Requiring permission from copyright owner means All Rights Reserved

Plagiarism vs. Copyright Infringement

• Plagiarism is claiming work without attribution or using someone else's work without proper attribution.
• Copyright infringement involves using someone else's work without permission.

Commissioned Works & Work for Hire Issues.

• Even with easier digital art creation, moral rights still apply.
• The Right of Attribution applies to the creator regardless of ownership.
• Many work-for-hire artists in the Philippines don't get credit due to market culture.
• An artist's reputation is vital, built on integrity and personal view.
• Moral Right to Alteration allows withholding publication or determining alterations.
• The internet is a platform for publishing that enables owners right to refuse.

Moral Right to Integrity

• It allows objection to any prejudicial distortion.
• Moral Right to Restrain prevents the use of one's name on work not created by them or a distorted version.

Memes

• Memes were originally defined as units of cultural transmission.
• Memes can be humorous images, videos, or text spread rapidly online, often with variations.
• Memes are often derivative works, and can be copyright infringements.
• Using an identifiable copyrighted image or character in a meme can carry liability.
• Factors determining liability include revenue generated, extent of use, nature of characters, and potential harm to the owner's brand.
• Memes are meant to be shared and go viral
• Memes are often intended as parody or satire, copyright owners may not pursue violations to maintain brand visibility.