Copyright infringement is defined by the jurisdiction — the United States of America has different copyright laws than the United Kingdom, or Australia, or Russia, or even China. Because of this fact, you should first, before anything else, check the laws in your jurisdiction (country, city and province) before using something that isn’t in the public domain.

For our definition of copyright infringement, works in the public domain aren’t copyrightable. Works that aren’t copyrightable include ideas, works that aren’t eligible (150 years-old documents, or older — think Beethoven and Frankenstein), data that isn’t categorized in a creative way (this could be a database, such as a phone book or other publicly-accessible data), or items that the owners have specified creative commons copyrights.

As you can see, copyright law is rather complicated. Wikipedia.org gives us the definition of copyright infringement as: “Copyright infringement (or copyright violation) is the unauthorized use of material that is protected by intellectual property rights law particularly the copyright in a manner that violates one of the original copyright owner’s exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it. The slang term bootleg (derived from the use of the shank of a boot for the purposes of smuggling) is often used to describe illicitly copied material.”

Our definition of copyright infringement includes the works of creative commons. Creative commons is an organization that allows for the copyright author to determine the uses available for people who want to use their works — for such items as for audio, images, video, text, educational materials, and software. It allows for the copyright owner to allow people to use their works for non-commercial, commercial, no derivatives, share alike, or just by giving attribution. Creative Commons is a license granted by the copyright holder, and can be used in both online (electronic Internet) works and offline works.

The real definition of copyright infringement comes from your jurisdictions statutes. In the United States of America, our jurisdiction’s copyright laws are contained in Title 17 of the United States Code, §501 – §513. You can also find a definition of copyright infringement through such organizations such as the European Union or World Trade Organizations.

Copyright Infringement Statistics

Copyright infringement statistics, by most standards, are inflated. Most recent copyright infringement statistics cite that almost 30 percent of software is pirated in the United States of America. This means they think 30 percent of the software on your computer is illegal.

However, copyright holders have good reason to worry that we’re violating their rules: the number of suspects referred to the United States attorneys with an intellectual property lead increased twenty six percent in the period between 2002 and 2004 — and this number is rising. Copyright infringement statistics are difficult to come by, but it’s plain to see it’s affecting every aspect of intellectual copy.

Copyright infringement statistics show a lot of violations in pirating software and music. Many unsuspecting people, from college students to thirty-something professionals, download music on a consistent basis, and often it’s not downloaded legally. Often times, someone will download a song off a MySpace or YouTube page, without giving thought to who owns the copyright and if it’s legal for them to have it.

Copyright infringement statistics, brought to us by the music recording industry, would have us believe that online infringement is seriously hurting the recording industry. Statistics also show that many people are downloading games off the Internet. With the litany of games available to us — from complete alternate worlds such as World of Warcraft to the more mainstream “The Sims” series — people are clamoring for PC games. They’re fun, intelligent games that play on a system everyone has — a computer. Because of this, people are always looking for new games to play and download, and they may download a game without knowing that it’s not “freeware” (as many Internet games are).

In addition to computer games, copyright infringement statistics also show that movies are downloaded in abundance on the Internet. Many peer to peer file distribution sites and programs (such as Kazaa) allow transferring of large files; plus they’re easy to find online. Using a tool provided by one of many suppliers, users can search for any item they like — and, of course, the system is abused and people download copyrighted movies and entire DVDs instead of publicly available works.

Copyright infringement also branches into written works, such as articles, books, poems, etc. Many times, a student will copy a paragraph or two without realizing the implications of such copying. While they may think of it as “borrowing,” if it’s used on a grander scale, the person could be opening themselves up to a large court fight, especially if it’s used commercially.

As you can see, copyright infringement statistics show us that many people use copyrighted works illegally. Do your best diligence when using another’s work — and ask for permission every time you want to use something that you haven’t created. Chances are, if you just ask the question up front you’ll save yourself from becoming a copyright infringement statistic and save yourself from a major lawsuit.

This copyright law was created to ensure that the heirs of the songwriter would also benefit from the royalties after the music’s writer or composer was no longer living. It is important to remember that these laws are the current laws; music written at different points in time are most likely subject to different copyright laws. When searching for free copyright music it is always a good idea to search through music that is very old rather than focusing your search on more recent musical selections, as they will most likely still be protected under copyright.

When using free copyright music or public domain music, you must be certain the copy you are using is within the copyright period. Any music published before 1922 is public domain music. This does not, however, include derivatives or new versions of that music which may still be under copyright protection. Finding a copy of the music with the copyright date included, if that date is prior to 1922, is the best route to ensure you are complying with current copyright laws and you not infringing on someone else’s copyright.

Written music is protected differently than recorded music. Almost every sound recording copyrighted in the United States is protected until 2067. If you need a sound recording you should either purchase one or make one of your own. You can find many free copyright music by searching on Google; which allows free use of the music and free of any royalty payments.

Copyright laws in the United States are different than they are in other countries. If you wish to use music that is or was under copyright in another country, then you must follow the laws that apply to the particular piece of music. Free copyright music is available in almost every country and many genres; the trick is finding great sources where you can easily find this music.

There is a project called Mutopia, which operates like project Gutenberg. Mutopia provides free copyright music. The Gutenberg project also has a section devoted to free sheet music, in addition to its wonderful resources for books. Each of these projects provides excellent resources to find free copyright music for whatever reason.

Whether you are a musician seeking inspiration from the music of old or hoping to find a composition — which you can rearrange and make your own — there are many ways you can achieve your goals that will not violate current copyright laws. The key is learning the copyright laws both where you live and countries in which the music you seek to modify.

The New Zealand Federation Against Copyright Theft, or NZFACT, is an organisation that is committed to ensuring and protecting the rights of the New Zealand film and television industry, retailers, and movie fans. Copyright infringement has a wide number of manifestations and is something that applies to a vast number of scenarios. NZFACT has several members which include, but are not limited to:

Village Road show Limited

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, New Zealand

Paramount Pictures Corporation

Sony Pictures Releasing International Corporation

Twentieth Century Fox International Corporation

Universal International Films, Inc

Warner Bros. Pictures International, a division of Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.

NZFACT works with enforcement agencies and government officials to ensure the copyright infringement and piracy of any kind do not take place in New Zealand. Tony Eaton, a former police prosecutor in the New Zealand Courts, is the Executive Director of NZFACT. For more information about issues such as copyright infringement laws and regulations, legal penalties for copyright infringement and piracy, how to contribute towards the upkeep of copyright laws and regulations, how to ensure that you protect yourself and/or your corporation from potential litigation, please visit www.nzfact.co.nz.

The agency in charge of patent laws is a Federal Agency known as the Patent and Trademark Office. Anyone who applies for a patent will have their application reviewed by an examiner. The examiner will decide if a patent should be granted to the inventor. Individuals who have their patent application turned down can appeal it to the Patents Office Board of Appeals.

Just because someone has a patent does not mean they have the right to use, make or sell the invention. For instance, if a drug company comes up with a new drug, they can get a patent on it. However, it would not be available to be sold to the general public until the drug becomes approved by other regulatory bodies. Likewise, someone may invent an improvement to an existing product, yet they will not be allowed to produce or sell the item until they obtain a license to do so from the owner of the original patent holder.

For someone to receive a patent, as stated, they must fill out an application on their invention. The application will entail the details of the invention and how it is made. In addition, the person applying for a patent must make claims that point to what the applicant deems or regards as his or her invention. A patent may have many claims with it. The claims protect the patent owner and notify the public exactly what the individual has patented or owns.

If someone infringes upon patent and copyright law, it is usually enforced in a civil court setting. The owner of the patent will generally bring a civil lawsuit against the person who has infringed upon their patent and ask for monetary compensation. In addition, the patent owner can seek an injunction which would prohibit the violator from continuing to engage in any acts that would infringe upon their patent in the future.

Many patent owners will make licensing agreements (or contracts) with others. These agreements allow another person or company to use someone’s patented invention in return for royalties. In addition, some patent holders who are competitors may agree to license their patents to each other to expand both of their profits.

Most everything we use in our day to day life was invented by someone. That person had to seek out a patent for their invention. Patent and copyright laws protect inventors from having their ideas and inventions stolen out from under them. This makes the playing field more level for individuals. Without these laws, the marketplace would be out of control and the small guy would probably be eaten alive by big business.