Penalties for copyright infringement under the US Copyright Act
Posted by admin on November 11, 2009 - (0)
Copyright infringement may be defined as a violation of the exclusivity rights granted to the owner of a copyright under the US Copyright Act.
Penalties under the Copyright Act include the following:
- The individual accused of infringement pays the damage and profit amounts.
- The law may instruct a payment in the range of $200 to $150,000 for each infringement.
- The individual accused of infringement pays for the attorney and court expenses incurred.
- The Court may issue a warrant barring infringements.
- The Court may restrain the infringed work(s).
- The individual accused of infringement may be penalised with a jail term.
There are some conditions that need to be met in order to say that an infringement has taken place.
- The individual alleging the infringement must have a genuine and valid copyright.
- The individual accused of infringement must be able to access the work in question.
- The alleged infringement must fall outside the exceptions.
Exceptions to the Rule:
The exceptions are outlined here for better understanding.
Face-to-face instruction: It is applicable for nonprofit institutions of education engaging in teaching and learning processes. They are free to display and perform any work in a classroom or similar such environment.
Virtual instruction: It falls under the TEACH (Technology Education and Copyright Harmonization) Act of the Copyright law and is applicable to those registered for a given online course.
Fair use: This exception is used often as it is very broad in its application. There are four factors in this criterion of which atleast two need to be present in order for this exception to be applicable.
- Purpose and character: Use must be for nonprofit, educational or personal reasons.
- Nature of work: Works being used should be factual and unpublished.
- Amount: The amount of work used must be small and not be a very significant part.
- Market effect: Use must be one-time and restricted and the work under consideration must not be a consumable.
If the above stated exceptions are not applicable and the three criteria are met, only then can a copyright infringement be said to have taken place.
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How to do business on Web?
Posted by admin on November 4, 2009 - (0)
Internet has emerged as a potent medium to do business. Its potential lies in the gamut of services which people get, from mailing to developing contacts. Many of the services available on the web can be used by home based business entrepreneurs to boost their business.
Some aspects of the business which can be given a boost using the web are:
1. Hiring
Entrepreneurs can use the web to find prospective employees for their business. They could use different portals and websites to advertise about their business thereby increasing the awareness. Nowadays numerous job search engines have come into being which provide the employer with lots of candidates to choose from different parts of the world. So, entrepreneurs have a wider base of candidates for their businesses. The same can be used to find people with specific skill sets, something which was not available on a large scale early on.
2 Marketing
Small scale businessmen can use the web to advertise for their business. They can place their banners in different websites and portals at a paltry sum. At the same time, they also register in online directories and yellow pages and ensure that their business gets optimum opportunity for exposure.
3. Online Surveys
Apart from hiring and marketing, the web can also be used to assess the various working heads of the business. These can be done by conducting online surveys using websites, e-mails and other such measures. This would ensure a speedy response which can be gathered, collated and studied to enhance the working of ailing business heads.
4. Customer network across the globe
The web can be used to expand costumer base across the globe and overcome regional and national boundaries. Several websites such as e-bay give the option of shipping products across globe thereby reducing distance and increasing prospects for entrepreneurs.
5. Figure needs across the world
Internet can also be used to study the consumption patterns of products and opportunities for your business around the world. It increases the horizon of your business and gives you opportunities to grow as an entrepreneur.
6. Avenues to reinvest capital
Lastly, the web provides to reinvest capital in other forms of business and utilities services which could fetch you returns for the growth of your business. For example, you could invest the profits from your business in oil shares in another country which could in turn multiply your revenue. The increased profits could be invested back in your business and thus safeguard the growth.
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What are copyrights, patents and trademark?
Posted by admin on November 4, 2009 - (0)
When you are operating a small business there are chances that you may use some tool or technique which is unique to your business and plays a vital role in enhancing the productivity of your business. This means you always run the risk of its getting duplicated, right? This is where terms such as copyrights, patents and trademark come in handy.
What is a copyright?
Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. There are copyright acts in different countries which give the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, this prevent others from copying the description.
What Is a Patent?
A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. In the United States, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent. Patents are generally with regard to products. So, if your small scale business deals with manufacturing and you come manufacture a new product, get it patented to ensure that the design of your creation stays with you!
What Is a Trademark or Servicemark?
A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. This is generally used as a differentiator, so if there are chances there might be several goods in the market like yours then get a servicemark.
A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms “trademark” and “mark” are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks.
Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark.
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