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6. USING WORKS OWNED BY
OTHERS
When do you need a permission to use
the works of others?
Businesses often need to use works protected
by copyright or neighbouring rights works to
support their business activities. When using
the work of others you must first determine if
copyright permission is required. In principle,
you will need authorization from the copyright
owner:
•
If the work is covered by copyright and/
or neighbouring rights law(s);
•
If the work is not in the public domain;
•
If your planned exploitation implies the
use of all or part of the rights granted to the
copyright and/or neighbouring rights owner;
and
•
If your intended use is not covered by
“fair dealing” or by a limitation or exception
specifically included in the national copyright
or neighbouring rights law.
Remember that you may need specific
permission for using other people’s content
outside your business premises (investor
“road show,” company website, annual report,
company newsletter, etc.), and inside your
business premises (distribution to employees,
product research, in-house meetings and
training, etc.). And, even if you use just a part of
a copyright-protected work, you will generally
need prior permission.
Do you also need permission to make
electronic or digital use of the works
of others?
Copyright protection applies to digital use
and storage in the same way as it does to any
other uses. Therefore, you may need prior
permission from the copyright owners to scan
their works; post their works on an electronic
bulletin board or a website; save their digital
content on your enterprise’s database; or
publish their works on your website. Most
websites list the e-mail address of a contact
person, making it relatively easy to request
permission to reproduce images or text.
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Current technology makes it easy to use
material created by others – film and television
clips, music, graphics, photographs, software,
text, etc. – in your website. The technical ease
of using and copying works does not give you
the legal right to do so.
If you have bought a work protected
by copyright, are you free to use it as
you wish?
As explained above, copyright is separate from
the right of possession of the work (see page 42).
Buying a copy of a book, CD, video or computer
program by itself does not necessarily give the
buyer the right to make further copies or play
or show them in public. The right to do these
things will generally remain with the copyright
owner, whose permission you would need to do
those acts.
Licensing Software
Standardized packaged software is often
licensed to you upon purchase. You purchase
the physical package but only receive a license
for certain uses of the software contained in it.
The terms and conditions of the license (called
“shrink-wrap license”) are often contained on
the package, which may be returned if you do
not agree with the stated terms and conditions.
By opening the package you are deemed to
have accepted the terms and conditions of the
agreement. Otherwise, the licensing agreement
may be included inside the packaged software.
Often, the licensing of software also takes
place on-line by means of “click-wrap licenses.”
In such licenses, you accept the terms and
conditions of the agreement by clicking on the
relevant icon on a webpage.
In all such cases, you should carefully go through
the licensing agreement to find out what you
may and may not do with the software you
have bought.
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What content or material are you
entitled to use without permission?
Authorization from the copyright owner is not
needed:
•
If you are using an aspect of the work
which is not protected under copyright law.
For example, if you are expressing the facts or
ideas from a protected work in your own way,
rather than copying the author’s expression
(see page 9);
•
If the work is in the public domain; and
•
If your use is covered by the concept
of ‘fair dealing’ or by a limitation or exception
specifically included in the national copyright
law.
When is a work in the public domain?
If no one has copyright in a work, that work
belongs to the public domain and anyone may
freely use it for any purpose whatsoever. The
following types of works are in the public
domain:
•
A work for which copyright protection
period has expired (see page 20);
•
A work that cannot be protected by
copyright (e.g., title of a book) (see page 9);
and
•
A work for which the copyright owner
has explicitly abandoned his rights, for example,
by putting a public domain notice on the work.
Absence of a copyright notice does not imply
that a work is in the public domain, even if the
work is available on the Internet.
How do you find out whether a work
is still protected by copyright or
neighbouring rights?
In accordance with moral rights, an author’s
name will normally be indicated on the work,
whereas the year in which the author died may
be available in bibliographic works or public
registers. If that search does not give clear
results, you may consult the copyright register
of Nigerian Copyright Commission to check for
any relevant information, or you may contact the
relevant collective management organization
or the publisher of the work. Remember that
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