​Proving ownership

The plaintiff in a copyright infringement lawsuit has the burden of proving two elements: that they own a copyright, and that the defendant infringed it. To establish ownership of a valid copyright, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the work is original, and that it is subject to legal protection.

What does copyright law not cover

Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans are not protected by copyright law. ... To be protected by copyright, a work must contain at least a minimum amount of authorship in the form of original expression. Names, titles, and other short phrases are simply too minimal to meet these requirements.

What Is Copyright

​There are three basic requirements for copyright protection: that which is to be protected must be a work of authorship; it must be original; and it must be fixed in a tangible medium.

Copyright is the legal and exclusive right to copy, or permit to be copied, some specific work of art. If you own the copyright on something, someone else cannot make a copy of it without your permission. Copyright usually originates with the creator of a work, but can be sold, traded, or inherited by others.

Copyright protection exists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.

Only the owner of copyright in a work has the right to prepare, or to authorize someone else to create, a new version of that work. Accordingly, you cannot claim copyright to another's work, no matter how much you change it, unless you have the owner's consent.

​Fair use 

allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder for purposes such as criticism, parody, news reporting, research and scholarship, and teaching. There are four factors to consider when determining whether your use is a fair one.

Fair Use is a Balancing Test

Factor 1: The Purpose and Character of the Use.
Factor 2: The Nature of the Copyrighted Work.
Factor 3: The Amount or Substantiality of the Portion Used.
Factor 4: The Effect of the Use on the Potential Market for or Value of the Work.
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