Yes they would be. A brief explanation on how copyrighting works and is applied (info found on the web). We once had somebody here who violated the law and was posting other peoples work on their website (they did stop after being notified)
When Copyright Exists
There are three basic requirements for a work to be copyrightable: it must be original,
fixed in a physical form, and an expression, not an idea.
“Original” means “first and new.” For example, you can take a picture of a tree and
copyright the picture. The tree is not original, maybe the basic view and cropping of the
picture are not original either, but combined, it is an original work of art. (Note that
copyright does not prevent other people from going out to the same tree and taking their
own picture, even if their picture is very similar to yours. Copyright would only prevent
others from physically copying or using your photo.) Derivative works are a separate
issue we will not cover here.
“Fixed” means some physical copy, such as written down on paper, typed, stored
electronically on a disk, etc.
“Expression” is the description, explanation, or way in which a story, idea, concept, etc.
is made known. Like the description of “original,” expression covers the end result only
(photo, painting, book, multimedia, etc)., and not the idea.
Ideas cannot be copyrighted, trademarked, or patented. Only the specific expression of
ideas. West Side Story, written in the 1960s, is a modern version of Romeo & Juliet, with
new characters and dialogue. It does not infringe on Shakespeare’s work partly because
the characters, dialogue, and description are different.
Copyright in the USA
There are important points to remember about USA copyright: two types of copyright law
and Registration.
Common Law Copyright: covers works the instant they are created, provided they are
not published. That means that everything is protected by copyright at the moment of its
creation, and that the protection lasts forever. But the moment the work is distributed to
the public (there are various legal definitions of “published” and “distributed”), then
common law copyright ceases.
Statutory Law Copyright: this is granted by the government and comes with good and
bad points. It has a limit of the author’s lifetime plus 50 years.
Copyright Registration: copyrighted works do not have to be registered with the
Copyright Office (Library of Congress in Washington DC). But if a copyright holder ever
wishes to file a copyright infringement lawsuit against a thief, then the work must be
registered. The law allows time to register before a court case begins, but then the
copyright protection is only valid from the time of registration. This means that you could
lose out: Imagine if someone had been printing your book and selling illegal copies for
three years before you find out. You then register your book with the Copyright Office
and file a lawsuit against the thief. You quickly win, but the thief only has to pay
damages for the time the work was registered!
Copyright in Australia and the UK
Authors do not have to register their work with any office or department. In fact, there is
no longer any department that will take registrations. Though technically authors do not
have to even mark their work “copyright © year” it is a very good idea to mark all work.
Australia subscribes to international treaties on copyright. That means foreign work is
covered, generally under the same laws. There are exceptions, but just because a book is
from Moldovia doesn't mean it can be copied.
If you didn't take the photo or create the image yourself, you will have to get the
copyright holder's permission to use it. This includes images from books, magazines,
websites, brochures, calendars, video and CD covers, stills from video…anything not
yours. Even a snapshot your neighbour took.
Legal Copies and Fair Use
Copyrighted works may be copied in small portions under certain circumstances. For
example, it is “fair” to copy a small article from the newspaper or magazine for your own
private purposes. You may also copy small segments of a work to use in reviews or for
education. It is not “fair use” to copy an entire publication, even if it is for education. A
rule-of-thumb guide is: “is copying this work depriving the author/publisher of income?”
There's also the possibility of someone else taking portions of your work and blending it
with theirs. Or creating an “original” work that is too similar to yours in construction and
detail. This is plagiarism. (Unless a similar story is created independently in parallel.
This happens more often than most people would expect: two inventors separately
invented the Ship’s Chronometer and two invented the Telephone.)
Important Points
Most old works, such as paintings, are protected by copyright. The National Portrait
Gallery in London holds the copyright to many famous British works hundreds of years
old. For a fee they send you photos for scanning.
Clip Art often has restrictions attached. Do not assume it is in the public domain or that
you have blanket permission to use it.
Your work is copyright, too. No one else can use it or build on it without your permission.
Few matters of copyright are iron-clad. In one instance a court may rule one way, and in seemingly identical circumstances, a different court may rule another. Establish proof of your work and intentions. (Some suggest mailing a copy of your work to yourself and not opening the package except as needed in a court.)
So, to protect your work you should always write: “copyright ©” and the year and your name on your work. Then you should establish proof-of-date, or if in the USA, register the work.
