Copyright is a legal concept that is enacted by most governments which grants the creator of an original piece of work exclusive rights to its use and distribution. When someone wants to use this piece of work it enables the creator to intellectual wealth and allows them to receive financial compensation for their work.
Through our work on WINOL copyright has often been a topic of debate and has led to issues so it is essential that we know how to keep ourselves protected within the copyright laws. Whenever you write something, produce a graphic or take a photograph you are creating intellectual property so by being a part of this creative industry we ourselves are making new creative copy so we should respect the principles of copyright laws. The issues surrounding journalism is the digital revolution that has effected the business spectrum which has put journalists under immense strain, because of copyright it protects other peoples creative content.
As journalist we are always taking quotes, recycling material and putting our own individual mark on it, we are essentially using other peoples quotes and 'lifting' them. This is not a breach of copyright because we can use these quotes under fair dealing, which happens routinely.
When lifting quotes or using any material from somebody else we must attribute it to them. These are simple rules that must be adhered to which keeps us safe within the copyright law, for example attributing the author.
With every judgement you make it is important to recognise the risk, you must then identify if it is copyright and whether you can use it or not. Again it is another grey area so it is better to be safe than sorry and double check with a lawyer before you use it.
A parody exemption of copyright at the moment is the most recent case of the 'Dumb Starbucks' coffee shop in the USA which is a parody of the legit Starbucks company; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26131013
When a star dies what can I broadcast?
When somebody dies a report will often have clips of the films they have starred in. As it is a news event we can use the clips that are relevant to the report. The fair dealing rule allows us to use the material with conditions attached such as attributing the copyright holder.
The copyright laws surrounding the deceased will expire 70 years after their death.
Film trailers;
When a film has been released there are trailers that advertise the film and after a certain amount of time broadcasters are able to use clips from these trailers. If a broadcaster needs the clips immediately they will need consent and often have to pay a substantial amount to attain what they need, if this is not feasible there is the option of using stills which are a lot cheaper.
Photographs;
You cannot use a photograph under fair dealing, you MUST have consent. Watermarks are often added to stop people from stealing the photograph and claiming it as their own. An example of this is the story of 'Canoe's this in Panama' which saw the Daily Mirror and the BBC make an agreement that the BBC could use the photo of John Darwin who faked his own death and his wife Anne Darwin who was still alive. Evidently the Mirror did not own this photograph and therefore had no rights to it which enabled the photographer to sue both the BBC and the Daily Mirror.
Why it matters?
As a journalist you need to be trusted and therefore must consider copyright at all times. If you ignore the concerns and issues surrounding copyright it could result in you paying extensive fines.
What is protected?
- Books
- Films
- Music
- Photographs
What is not protected?
- Undeveloped ideas
- Slogans
- Catchphrases
An example of being able to use the above is when the authors of the Holy Grail took Dan Brown's "The Davinci Code" to court however Dan Brown won because there is no law protecting ideas.
Fair dealing;
For the purpose of reporting current events we as journalists are allowed to;
- Lift the general gist of stories and quotes from rivals
- It must be attributed
- It must be in the public's interest
- The usage must be fair
Fair dealing will allow;
- Widening the stories in the public interest
- Criticism and reviews
- Broadcasters can use bits of film which stars are famous for, essentially clips for free
- Photographs are never subject to fair dealing.
Danger area;
- The interest - Youtube, Facebook etc.
- Sports coverage - these have news access rights but are subject to big contract deals. The BBC Wilkinson kick is not owned by the BBC, ITV owns it. The sports access is an issue of concern.
- Photographs and film archives.
Points to remember;
- Recognise copyright issues early
- Contacting the rights holders will take time
- Tell others if you have been copyright cleared
- Do not lift material without referencing.
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