Exclusive Rights in Copyright
The Copyright Act grants five exclusive rights to the owner of an original
work. Together these rights make up the bundle of rights known as copyright.
These exclusive rights are different from the rights given to a person who
merely owns a copy of the work. The fact that a particular use of a copyrighted
work is said to implicate one or more of the rights does not necessarily mean
that such use is an infringement or unlawful. The exclusive rights of a copyright
owner include the following:
1. The right to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;
2. The right to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;
3. The right to distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public
by sale or other transfer of ownership as well as by rental, lease, or lending;
4. The right to perform the copyrighted work publicly in the case of literary,
musical, dramatic, and choreographic works as well as pantomimes, motion pictures,
and other audiovisual works; and
5. The right to display the copyrighted work publicly in the case of literary,
musical, dramatic, and choreographic works as well as pantomimes, pictorial,
graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion
picture or other audiovisual work.
Limitations on Exclusive Rights
The rights are not without limit, however, as they are specifically limited
by fair use and several other specific limitations set forth in the Copyright
Act, including the following:
- Fair use of a copyright work, including such use by reproduction in copies
or phonorecords or by other means for purposes of criticism, comment,
news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research is not an infringement
of copyright.
- Reproduction by libraries and archives, or any of its employees acting
within the scope of their employment, of no more than one copy or phonorecord
of a copyrighted work is not an infringement of copyright under certain
conditions.
- Transferring a particular copy or phonorecord. The owner of a particular
copy or phonorecord that was lawfully made, or any person that is authorized
by the owner, is entitled, without the authority of the copyright owner,
to sell or otherwise dispose of the possession of that copy or phonorecord.
Exemption of certain performances and displays
- Certain secondary transmissions are exempted.
- Certain ephemeral recordings are exempted.
- Certain copies or adaptations of computer programs are exempted. It is
not an infringement for the owner of a copy of a computer program to make
or authorize the making of another copy or adaptation of that computer
program under certain circumstances.
- Certain secondary transmissions of superstations and network stations
for private home viewing are exempted.
- Certain reproductions for blind or other people with disabilities are
exempted. It is not an infringement of copyright for an authorized entity
to reproduce or to distribute copies or phonorecords of a previously published,
nondramatic literary work if those copies or phonorecords are reproduced
or distributed in specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or
other persons with disabilities.
- Certain secondary transmission by satellite carriers within local markets
are exempted.
Infringement of Exclusive Rights
Anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner or of
the author as provided in the Copyright Act or who imports copies or phonorecords
into the United States in violation of the Copyright Act is an infringer of
the copyright or right of the author. The legal or beneficial owner of an
exclusive right under a copyright is entitled to institute an action for any
infringement of that particular right committed while he or she is the owner
of it.
Remedies for Infringement
The following are remedies for infringement:
- Injunctions. Any court having jurisdiction of a civil action arising under
the Copyright Act may grant temporary and final injunctions on such terms
as it may deem reasonable to prevent or restrain infringement of a copyright.
- Impounding and disposition of infringing articles. At any time while an
action is pending, the court may order the impounding, on such terms as
it may deem reasonable, of all copies or phonorecords claimed to have
been made or used in violation of the copyright owner's exclusive rights
and of all plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, film negatives, or
other articles by means of which such copies or phonorecords may be reproduced.
Additionally, as part of a final judgment or decree, the court may order
the destruction or other reasonable disposition of all copies or phonorecords
found to have been made or used in violation of the copyright owner's
exclusive rights and of all plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, film
negatives, or other articles by means of which such copies or phonorecords
may be reproduced.
- Damages and profits. An infringer of copyright is liable for either the
copyright owner's actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer
or statutory damages.
- Costs and attorney's fees. The court in its discretion may allow the recovery
of full costs by or against any party other than the United States or
an officer. The court may also award a reasonable attorney's fee to the
prevailing party as part of the costs.
