Understanding, Respecting Copyright Notices

Many authors and creative artists are finding that this age of the internet has given people the feeling that if so much information is out there and so accessible, it must be there for them to help themselves and use as they please. There is hardly any understanding, respecting copyright notices any more. This is very sad as copyright laws in most countries have only been strengthened.

Furthermore, a number of countries got together at the Berne Convention and at the WIPO Copyright Treaty and agreed to uphold each other's laws. Their laws have become more standardized through their cooperation.

Any creative work in any medium, print, graphic, or electronic is automatically copyrighted in these countries. (It is possible that some backward, left-behind third-world country may not have a copyright law in their realm, but that would be an exception to the rule). The author or creator of the article, story, poem, video, painting, graphic design - whatever - can be considered to have copyright as soon as they have made their work. In some countries they can send a copy away to be registered with their government, but that does not grant them copyright. The mere fact that they created this new work gives them all the rights with copyright.

All a writer has to do is fix the copyright symbol, (c) or the word Copyright, the year it was created, and their name. If they are lying of course, they can end up in the courts, and would have to prove that they really created it before someone else with a similar work.

What rights does copyright give the author/creator of the work? Simply this, they should be the one to decide what publishing opportunities they will agree to (publishers of course, have to be willing second parties), and they have the right to profit from their work. They have this right for a specific number of years, which can vary a bit from country to country. In some places that is for the life of the copyright owner, plus another 50 years. After that, if the copyright has not been passed on to heirs, etc., the work may pass into the public domain. It is only once it is in the public domain that anyone may use and adapt or re-work the written work or creative product.

Of course, if they are generous, they may wish to assign the rights to someone else. But they would have to put that into a document that would stand up legally in court. The author/creator has the right to grant permission. They can grant a license to someone or a publisher to produce the work under a legal agreement, and they can assign permanent rights to others, whether limited (spelled out) or exclusive.

Copyright laws now apply not only to books, but short articles, stories, plays, paintings, photographs, architecture designs audio recordings, movies, and computer programs. Some countries also see a moral right to be credited for the work as part of the copyright law.

We see then, that in this era when the internet 'flows' with information and creative works abound, there are also many people with no sense of right and wrong, who seem to have no moral conscience about helping themselves to what belongs to another person. Part of that may be ignorance of copyright laws, part of it may just have to do with the fact, as it says in the Bible, "The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked." People are born in sin and grab at whatever they want like an undisciplined child. It is most sad when Christians stoop to do this. Surely God will hold them guilty for it.

Just because you receive an unsolicited article or picture by email, does not mean that you now have the right to publish it on your blog or website, or to send it further. Without express permission from the owner you would be breaking copyright law. Yes, even if you are not making any money from it.

The copyright owner does not "lose" their copyright just because someone passes on their work (usually leaving off the author's name), nor if they fail to defend their copyright. Defending your right applies to a trademark, or a registered name. A woman who gives birth to a baby will always be the one who gave birth to that person. That fact can never be erased, even through adoption or abortion. The original copyright owner is the one who created the "New Work" in the same sense.

You may wish to argue that by passing on the Work, you are helping the author/creator. You have to be able to quote from it if you like it.

Yes, copyright law does allow "Fair Use." Fair use is defined as quoting for the sake of reporting, reviewing, criticizing or commenting in some way on the work, but you can only quote enough to make your point. Not the whole document or long passages out of it. If you end up sued in court over breaking someone's copyright, the judge will focus on your motives, and just how much you needed to quote to prove what you were saying about the work.

At present, breaking copyright law lands you in a civil law suit. There the special rights of defendants in a criminal cases that you see on TV do not apply here. There are some who say that copyright cases may end up as criminal cases before long, but that will create new problems for you to face.

Check this site debunking some commonly held myths about copyrights.

Apply the Golden Rule that Jesus gave; "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you."

Then you should be out of trouble. If you want to go the extra mile, as Jesus urged in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) you can watch for opportunities to encourage writers and others who have created something unique, and when you see a chance, help protect their copyrights.

Copyright to Joy Gems

Now more specifically to my copyright to the Joy Gems devotionals. I studied the Bible passages with Joy in them, and wrote these devotional articles myself over a number of years when I was especially needing and looking for the Joy of the Lord. I have polished them, and intend to publish them as a book one day.

However, I have decided to offer limited rights for them to be used in a weekly mailing to friends and supporters of Revival Time Ministry, Uganda. I, myself, am looking after this project. But I do it with some trepidation because I see how quickly people help themselves to things they receive in emails and treat them as if they are found money that they stooped to pick up off the street. I may find my Joy Gems scattered all over the world long before I get to publishing them as a book. This is a risk I take!

If you enjoy the Joy Gems and want to share them with your friends, you would help the most by telling them about these devotional articles in your own words and urging them to come to the Revival-Time-Ministry.info site and subscribing themselves. That achives the purpose of adding to our mailing list, and at the same time your friend(s) get to enjoy the readings too. If you need to forward a copy to them to show it to them, - I can accept that, but knowing human nature, I can see where it will be seen as just another forward and without reading this page, they will just keep passing it on. In no time my name and copyright notice is deleted and it is considered to be - by Anonymous.

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