How to Avoid Copyright Infringement?

Mar 13, 2023

1,350 6 mins

Learn the basics of copyright infringement in this blog, and learn how to avoid legal issues when you're at risk of being sued.

The internet has presented a threat to humans in a variety of ways. Copyright infringement is one of them. People may have access to millions of websites with a single click and post anything on social media networks by modifying someone else’s original work; a typical example of such change is submitting research papers. Scholars frequently use multiple sources to generate their work. People often plagiarise someone else’s original work without permission. So, what now? Don’t panic since we’ve got you covered.

This article defines copyright infringement and explains how to spot it. We will demonstrate how you can protect your brand against copyright infringement, along with some examples. So, that being said, here’s a quick rundown of everything you need to know about copyright infringement.

What Exactly Is Copyright infringement?

The violation of someone’s IP (intellectual property) is copyright infringement. It’s just another name for piracy or stealing someone else’s original creation, particularly if the one who stole reaps the advantages rather than the originator of the piece. It is a copyright public performance violation to do any of the following with copyright material:

Copying it
Making copies available to thy general population
Renting or returning it to the general public
Making it known to the broad audience

Secondary infringement occurs when someone illegally imports an infringing copy, holds or interacts with it, or puts forward means for making it. In situations of infringement, a copyright holder has the option of pursuing civil remedies and filing a criminal complaint. Civil remedies include the following:

Injunctions are being sought to prevent further violation
All infringing contents are delivered to the owner
The power to take hold of copies of infringing articles
Recovering damages for loss based on the infringer’s earnings

In terms of criminal complaints, Section 63 of the Copyright Act(1957) states that anyone who unknowingly infringes or aids in the violation of the copyright in work, or other right conferred by the Copyright Act, is punishable. The law can sentence that person with imprisonment for a period of a minimum of six months, extending up to 3 years, and a penalty of a minimum of ₹50,000, which can be extended to ₹20 lakhs.

Click here to get Online Copyright Registration

Limitations and Exceptions of Copyright Infringement

When first beginning to guard against copyright infringements, it is crucial to understand that there are a few scenarios in which someone may utilise your creative work without infringing on your rights.

The first situation occurs when your copyright expires and becomes public domain. Copyright protection typically lasts for the author’s lifetime plus 70 years. After this, they become part of the public domain and can be used by anybody.

The fair use concept is a common infringement exemption. In some cases, the fair use exemption permits others to use a work without the copyright holder’s consent. Examples of uncommon uses that can qualify as fair use under copyright law include comments, criticism, teaching, news reporting, and research. Nevertheless, there isn’t any legal definition of fair use, and whether it applies to a particular usage is assessed individually.

Courts will evaluate several criteria in a dispute, including the character and purpose of the use, the type of the copyrighted work, the amount of work utilised, and the market impact of the used position. The following are some examples of exceptions to copyright protection:

Library and Archives: Copying protected works is permitted to preserve them in libraries and archives
Educational use: Copyright violation does not apply to protected material utilised for learning, assessment, or instruction. The information can be photocopied, played and performed as part of the education and enrichment
Temporary copies: A backup copy of computer software will not violate the owner’s copyright if acquired and used correctly
Customised format: It’s not a copyright violation to reproduce and distribute copyrighted material in a specialised format for individuals with impairments.

Examples of Copyright Infringement

There are several manifestations and sorts of copyright infringements. If you execute the following acts without first receiving permission from the holder, author, or owner, of the copyrighted content, you’ll be committing copyright infringement examples:

Recording an entire movie at a cinema theatre
Uploading a video to your company’s official website that contains copyrighted songs or words
Making use of images with copyright on your company’s official website
Making use of the copyright for songs in India of a music band on your company’s official website
Completely altering a photograph and uploading it on your company’s official website
Creating content using copyrighted pictures or text for sale
Obtaining movies or music without paying for their use
Without a formal agreement or permission, you won’t be able to copy any artistic work copyright or copyright literary work.

How to Avoid Copyright Infringement?

Dealing with copyright infringements consumes resources that may be better used elsewhere in your organisation. The good news is that there are steps you may take to avoid the consequences of copyright infringement. This section discusses preventive measures before moving on to how to enforce your copyrights.

Register your copyright

Registering your copyright increases your work’s ownership status. Even if you believe there are no doubts about who owns your job, you may be mistaken.

Copyright law automatically offers absolute protection to artists; nevertheless, if you feel compelled to pursue an infringement case in court, you must register your copyright. A legal dispute must show the considerable resemblance between the original work and the putative infringement. Having the copyright legally registered acts as proof in court that the copyright owner owns the work in question.

Add a copyright emblem to your work

A copyright notice is a simple method to alert others that your work is copyright protected. The notification consists of three parts:

The copyright sign ©, the abbreviation “copr”, or the term “copyright”
The initially published year of the content
The copyright holder’s name

You may immediately insert the copyright notice on your work. For instance, this may be your platform or the website to publish your work. Another advantage of utilising a copyright sign is in the event of copyright litigation. In that situation, the defendant’s attempts to lower damages by filing innocent infringement will entirely be dismissed.

Please leave your contact info for future usage

The easiest and cheapest strategy to avoid copyright infringements is to include your contact information so that people may contact you to ask for permission rather than infringing on your copyrighted work.

Publishing your work raises your exposure as a creator and attracts others who wish to utilise your job correctly. Giving rights to your work might help the holder of the copyright and the person who is reusing it. A Copyright for Synchronization License allows a person or entity to utilise a result owned by the copyright holder in return for payment.

Copyright license can be both exclusive and non-exclusive, and the agreement terms determine the rights associated with them. Copyright owners can make additional cash by licensing their work while owning their rights. If you intend to grant copyright licenses to your work, you should first register your copyright. As a result, there are no doubts about the work’s ownership status.

Put a watermark on your visual creation

A watermark is a graphic that you may add to images or other visual work, and it is often in the shape of white or translucent lettering. It notifies others and possible infringers that the work is yours. You may insert any information you like in the watermark, such as your name, firm’s name, or company logo.

A watermark also prohibits infringers from claiming they were unaware the material was copyrighted. Additional damages may be imposed if a copyright offender clears a watermark from a visual creation. Even if the copyright was not registered before the violation, these penalties are applicable.

Takedown copyright infringement

Individual authors and companies should make preventative efforts to avoid copyright infringement. However, experience reveals that even if you have such safeguards in place, infringers still can steal and profit from your work. Thanks to modern technologies, scammers find it reasonably easy and appealing to copy items and information.

That is not to say that preventive measures are pointless. Instead, they become fully effective when accompanied by a practical enforcement approach. When you observe an infringement of your work, there is no need to worry, but you should take prompt action.

You can easily report copyright infringements manually or get legal guidance from an attorney. However, when dealing with frequent or recurring breaches, those single-case procedures have drawbacks. Instead, you may collaborate with a business that specialises in trademark protection to secure your intellectual property on a large scale.

Conclusion

Scammers who wish to steal your work now have an easier time committing infringement of copyright because of advances in technology. In the worst-case scenario, you may wind up in a protracted court battle over a large quantity of money. As a result, companies would be wise to devise a strategy to safeguard their creative works against piracy.

Preventive actions like registering your copyrights are strongly advised, but they do not provide complete protection. It is critical to report copyright violations as soon as you notice them. This works best with a technologically advanced system capable of scanning vast volumes of data over the web.

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