Legal Definitions - infringement (of copyright)

In the context of intellectual property law, copyright infringement occurs when someone uses a copyrighted work without the permission of the copyright holder, thereby violating one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the owner by law.

A copyright owner possesses several exclusive rights over their original creative works, which can include literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. These rights typically include:

• The right to reproduce the work (make copies).
• The right to prepare derivative works based on the original (e.g., adaptations, sequels, translations).
• The right to distribute copies of the work to the public (e.g., by sale, rental, lease, or lending).
• The right to perform the work publicly (e.g., plays, music, dance).
• The right to display the work publicly (e.g., art, photographs).

When an individual or entity exercises any of these exclusive rights without authorization from the copyright owner, they are committing copyright infringement. To prove infringement, the copyright owner generally needs to demonstrate that they hold a valid copyright and that the alleged infringer copied or used substantial, protected elements of their original work.

Here are some examples illustrating copyright infringement:

• Example 1: Unauthorized Reproduction and Distribution

  A small online retailer downloads high-resolution photographs from a professional photographer's portfolio website and uses them on their own product listings without purchasing a license or obtaining permission. The retailer then sells products featuring these images.

  Explanation: This is copyright infringement because the retailer reproduced the photographer's copyrighted images (by downloading and uploading them) and distributed them publicly (by displaying them on their commercial website) without authorization, violating the photographer's exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute their work.

• Example 2: Creating an Unauthorized Derivative Work

  A fan of a popular fantasy novel series decides to write and publish their own "sequel" novel, featuring the original characters, settings, and plot elements from the copyrighted series, and then attempts to sell it online.

  Explanation: This constitutes copyright infringement because the fan created a derivative work (a new novel based on the existing one) using protected elements of the original copyrighted series without the permission of the original author or publisher. The right to prepare derivative works belongs exclusively to the copyright holder.

• Example 3: Unauthorized Public Performance

  A local coffee shop regularly plays music from popular artists through its sound system to entertain customers, using a personal music streaming account that is licensed only for private, non-commercial use, rather than obtaining a public performance license from a performing rights organization.

  Explanation: This is copyright infringement because the coffee shop is publicly performing copyrighted musical works for commercial purposes without obtaining the necessary licenses. The exclusive right to perform copyrighted music publicly belongs to the copyright holders, who typically license these rights through organizations that collect royalties.