Copyright length?

[Snyder]

It is not? I thought that's what copyright is all about? Protection of intellectual property?

As the name suggests, copyright is about the right to copy (or authorise to copy) a creation. It doesn't protect ideas, just works. It prevents people from copying something you've created without your pemission. So no, it doesn't protect intellectual property, in the sense of ideas, just the particular form of execution.

Regarding copyright, take a look at http://www.unesco.org/culture/laws/copyright/html_eng/page1.shtml and http://www.loc.gov/copyright/.

Interesting. Let's see if I get this right:

In Article I in the Universal Copyright Convention in the link you gave me, it says the following:

Each Contracting State undertakes to provide for the adequate and effective protection of the rights of authors and other copyright proprietors in literary, scientific and artistic works, including writings, musical, dramatic and cinematographic works, and paintings, engravings and sculpture.

(My bold)

Doesn't this mean that if I have expressed my idea in the form of a scientific work (e.g. a thesis) then it would be protected by copyright?


And many thanks for the answer(s). I tend to understand things best through discussion, so this helps me a lot.[/b]

 

[Xmas]

Doesn't this mean that if I have expressed my idea in the form of a scientific work (e.g. a thesis) then it would be protected by copyright?

The thesis would be protected by copyright, not the idea.

 

[ET]

Following the link, seems like it's life+70, already like the US. The details of film copyright are quite interesting, since they depend on the lives of principal participants in its creation, and don't have to do with the corporation that created it. It would be interesting to know what copyright for software comes under (published editions?).

Publication right is an interesting concept, BTW.

 

[ET]

Doesn't this mean that if I have expressed my idea in the form of a scientific work (e.g. a thesis) then it would be protected by copyright?

Like Xmas said, the thesis will be protected. That is, nobody can publish it or parts of it without your agreement (there's some leeway of copying for educational use). The idea in it, on the other hand, can be freely used and built upon.

 

[Snyder]

"The thesis would be protected by copyright, not the idea.

Like Xmas said, the thesis will be protected. That is, nobody can publish it or parts of it without your agreement (there's some leeway of copying for educational use). The idea in it, on the other hand, can be freely used and built upon.

Oh. I see. And how far does this reach? Imagine the following:
I have written a thesis about an algorithm I developed. The algorithm is an integral part of my thesis. Wouldn't someone who uses this algorithm in his program violate copyright because he is using parts of my thesis for his personal gain? (EDIT: forget the part about personal gain - I know this is another matter altogether...)

 

[Xmas]

"The thesis would be protected by copyright, not the idea.

Like Xmas said, the thesis will be protected. That is, nobody can publish it or parts of it without your agreement (there's some leeway of copying for educational use). The idea in it, on the other hand, can be freely used and built upon.

Oh. I see. And how far does this reach? Imagine the following:
I have written a thesis about an algorithm I developed. The algorithm is an integral part of my thesis. Wouldn't someone who uses this algorithm in his program violate copyright because he is using parts of my thesis for his personal gain? (EDIT: forget the part about personal gain - I know this is another matter altogether...)

No, someone who uses this algorithm would usually not violate copyright, because he/she would not use the exact expression you use in your thesis.

 

[Snyder]

Oh. I see. And how far does this reach? Imagine the following:
I have written a thesis about an algorithm I developed. The algorithm is an integral part of my thesis. Wouldn't someone who uses this algorithm in his program violate copyright because he is using parts of my thesis for his personal gain? (EDIT: forget the part about personal gain - I know this is another matter altogether...)

No, someone who uses this algorithm would usually not violate copyright, because he/she would not use the exact expression you use in your thesis.

Is it really so limited? I would have never thought that...what about cover versions which differ quite a bit from the original for example?
Well...I'm starting to dive into appropriate literature next week - this is gonna be fun. 8)
(A friend of mine (mag. iur.) recommended me the following:
Nasty book - 1356 pages, €260.-...I hope it's not too difficult to access the library of the Juridicum at University of Vienna as a TU student)

 

[Xmas]

The answer is, as usual, it depends. When you describe an algorithm in a thesis, you probably describe it as a series of steps, as pseudocode, data flow chart or something similar. This as part of the thesis, is protected by copyright. But anyone is allowed to create a C++/Java/Delphi/Python/whatever implementation of it based on your work, as his/her own work (which is, again, protected by copyright).

But the line between plagiarism and own work is quite fuzzy.