Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107: Types and Process

Copyright ownership grants the owner of a work an exclusive right to use it, with a few exceptions. The copyright to an original work that was created by someone, and which is fixed in tangible media, becomes the property of that person.

Copyright is an official way to protect the art work of an artist. Copyright is usually able to protect different types of content. Songs, artworks, films, poems, and books are all examples of these works. In recent years, sites and other online content have been subject to increased copyright protection. Copyright protection covers many types of works, including:

Audiovisual content such as online videos, movies and TV shows

Music compositions and sound recordings

Written works include musical compositions, books and blogs, articles, lectures, and other writings.

Visual works such as posters, advertisements, and paintings

Video games and computer software

Dramatic works such as musicals and plays.

What is a Copyright Disclaimer?

Copyright disclaimers are used to declare that a reproduction of a copyrighted piece is legal under Section 107 of The United States Copyright Act 1976 (the Act). It also contains pertinent details about the source (copyrighted works) of such reproduction.

To communicate to viewers or readers that reproductions do not infringe on the copyright of original works, it is necessary to add a copyright disclaimer.

It can be found on websites, blogs, downloadable files, and videos.

Different types of copyright disclaimers

These are some examples of copyright disclaimers.

Disclaimer regarding warranty copyright
Confidentiality Copyright Disclaimer
Investment copyright disclaimer,
Views-expressed copyright disclaimer
Copyright disclaimer with no-responsibility
Fair use copyright disclaimer.

We will only be addressing fair use copyright disclaimers in this article.

Copyright disclaimer can only be used when a copyrighted piece is reproduced. Any work can be given copyright if it meets the following conditions:

Expression: No copyright can be granted to mere ideas.

Copyright disclaimers: Requirements

Fixation: Ideas expressed/fixed in any tangible medium cannot be copied without permission.

Uniqueness: To be eligible for copyright, a work must have a significant amount of creativity. Additionally, copyright is not available for simple facts or small phrases.

Section 107 of 1976’s US Copyright Act

Title 17 of the United States Code was adopted as Title 17 by the Act. This is the US’s primary copyright statute. The final version of the Act was adopted into the US Code in October 1976. It contains 15 chapters and 20 appendices. It protects the literary, artistic, dramatic, choreographic and pictorial works of authors. To be eligible for copyright protection, the work must be original and attached to a tangible medium. The Act does not protect any idea or procedure, process, system or type of operation.

Section 107 falls under Chapter 1 and is titled “Limitations of exclusive rights: Fair Use.” It describes the situations in which a copyright owner can be used by someone else without his permission. This means that Section 107 is an exception from the exclusivity of copyright owners’ rights. It addresses the issue of fair use of copyrights in the United States.

Section 107 says that reproductions of copyrighted works, in the form of copies or phonorecords, and any other fair use, does not constitute an infringement on copyrights. However, the usage must be exclusively for the purposes set out under the Section.

Here’s a list of purposes that are fair uses:

Criticism,
Comment,
Reporting on news
Teaching,
Scholarships and
Research.

A copyright disclaimer contains certain features

A copyright disclaimer under section 107, as the name implies, is simply a statement that indicates that although some parts of a copyrighted piece are used in it, reproductions are only allowed for fair purposes. It is important to be aware of the key characteristics of Section 107 copyright disclaimers:

A copyright disclaimer added to reproduction does not automatically make it immune from a claim for copyright infringement. The copyright disclaimer doesn’t prevent the author from filing a copyright infringement suit.

Many copyright disclaimers lack any legal support.

Only the courts can decide whether or not a reproduction of a work is subject to fair use under Section. The court interprets Section 107’s grounds for fair use protection.

Benefits of using a copyright disclaimer

Here are some of the benefits of adding a Section 107 copyright disclaimer to any reproduced work

It demonstrates the legal knowledge of the reproducer to readers and viewers of the reproduced work. It portrays the reproducer’s credibility as an authoritative source of information.

It allows readers and viewers to find out the source of the information that prompted the reproduction.

This establishes fair use under Section 107 before any copyright infringement case reaches the court. It makes it easier to prove legal intent.

It allows the reproducer to give credit to the copyright owners, respecting his paternity rights (the right of a copyright holder to claim credits for his works).

The use of a copyright disclaimer has its disadvantages

A copyright disclaimer can be more detrimental than beneficial. A copyright disclaimer does not support the claim that the reproduced work is protected by Section 107. It is not approved by any court. Fair use can only be established after a copyright infringement lawsuit. Fair use does not necessarily mean that the reproducer claims the activity is covered by Section 107. A copyright disclaimer doesn’t legally prevent the copyright owner from filing a lawsuit for copyright infringement.

Sometimes, a copyright disclosure can be the most severe mistake a reproducer could make. This is because the copyright disclosure publicly declares that the contents of the reproduced work were copied from copyrighted works.

A copyright disclaimer is a more serious way for the reproducer of copyright infringement to be admitted before the court. A disclaimer is essentially a reproducer shouting at the copyright owner, “Hello! I have copied your copyrighted works without your permission.” It was a copyrighted piece, so I copied it. It is a violation of your rights. However, I did not intend to copy it. It is protected by Section 107.” The disclaimer may be used against the reproducer. It serves as evidence that the reproducer was aware of the existence and rights to the copyright. This evidence may result in the reproducer losing a legal copyright violation battle.