Copyright
Copyright protects your artistic, musical, or literary creation, including
software, sound recordings and photographs.
Our copyright connected services include:
- advice on copyright ownership and infringement
- enforcement of copyright
- advice on acquiring copyright in works
owned by third parties
- negotiate and
draft copyright licensing and assignment agreements
Copyright in Israel
Copyright protects original works, such as literary, artistic, dramatic
and musical creations. In an amendment to the Copyright Ordinance,
1924 ,
computer software has been included in the definition of "literary
work". In order for a work to qualify for copyright protection,
it needs to be original and show that some effort has been invested in
creating it. It is not necessary for the work to have artistic or creative “merit”.
The protection of copyright arises automatically upon the creation of
an original work and does not depend upon a system of registration.
Copyright does not protect ideas but only their tangible form. Therefore,
copyright comes into existence once, and only after the original work
has been shaped into its tangible form.
Israel is a member of the Berne
Convention,
which provides for reciprocal copyright protection. That is: a work created
in Israel will be protected and its copyright enforceable in any member
country of the Berne Convention as if it were created in that country (and
vice versa).
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the owner of the copyright?
The initial owner of the copyright is the author of the work. In a case
where more than one author collaborate on a work, then each owns the
part of the work that he/she created. If it is not possible to separate
between the parts, then the authors are co-owners. If a work was created
by an employee within the scope of his/her employment, then the copyright
belongs to the employer, unless otherwise agreed.
How long does copyright last?
The term of copyright protection is generally either for the life of
the author plus 70 years, or 70 years from the year of publication, depending
on the circumstances.
Why is it important to give a copyright notice?
A copyright notice informs the public that copyright protection is claimed
and directs interested parties to whom to apply for permission to use
the work. Infringers will not be able to claim that they were not aware
that the work is copyrighted.
How do I phrase my copyright notice?
Below the copyrighted text, the word COPYRIGHT, the copyright symbol, ©,
the name of the person or organization who owns the copyright and the
date of first publication and last update of the work should appear,
as follows: COPYRIGHT © XXXXXXXX, 2004-2006. All copyrighted works
such as instruction booklets and computer programs should be marked with
a copyright notice.
What exclusive rights do I have under copyright?
The owner of copyright in a work is granted certain exclusive
rights with respect to the work. These rights amount to control over
the work’s
commercial exploitation i.e. the right to publish the work, the right to reproduce
the work, to sell and rent copies, and to convert the work into different media.
The author of the work is also granted a "moral right". Under moral
right, the author has the right to always be acknowledged as the author of
his/her work, even after the work is not owned by the author anymore. Also,
his/her work must not be treated in any destructive or derogatory manner.
When is copyright infringed?
Copyright is infringed by the exercise of any of the above exclusive
rights without the permission of the copyright owner, i.e. by the reproduction
of a whole or substantial part of a work by a third party. It is necessary
to establish that there was actual copying of the work. Copyright, however,
provides no protection against independent development of the same or similar
works.
How can copyrights be commercially exploited?
Copyright is an asset in the same way as any other tangible property:
it may be sold or licensed, in whole or in part. Copyright consists of
various rights and their exploitation may be divided into different licenses.
The author of a best-selling book may e.g. sell the rights to make a
movie from the book to a film production company, but retain the right
to develop a TV series. Additional licenses may be given to a toy company
reproducing the book's characters and a software company developing a
video game based on the book and its characters.
How do copyright, patent and design overlap?
The Copyright Law, 1911 states that copyright protection will
not be awarded to works that can be registered as patents or designs.
Designs intended to be mass produced will not be protected under copyright.
Only designs that are "one of a kind" and not intended for
exploitation on industrial scale are copyright protected. On the other
side, software programs are specifically protected under copyright as
literary works and therefore will usually not be registered as patents.
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