Lesson 5 - Copyright 4:

"Copying" Covers Many Kinds Of Copying

Copyright, as we saw, generally gives the copyright owner the exclusive right to make copies of a work. Copies include electronic copies, and copyrighted works include electronic works.

But what does "copy" mean?

It covers copies of LESS THAN THE WHOLE thing: If you write an article and I make a copy of five pages, that might violate your copyright.
It covers PARAPHRASES, so long as they're close enough: If I translate your article into a foreign language, or make a movie based on your book, that will probably violate your copyright.
It covers MANUAL copies as well as mechanical copies: It doesn't matter whether you make an electronic copy of an electronic document, scan in a print document, or hand-enter a document into the computer. All of this is copying.
It covers PERSONAL copying as well as BUSINESS copying.

authors:

Larry Lessig David Post Eugene Volokh

Back to Lesson Index