Image and text are the two most common types of copyright infringement plagiarism. Whether music lyrics, academic writing, or stock photos, usually using them without informing the owner counts as copyright infringement.
Copying and using a copyrighted video – Using someone else's created song or video is illegal without permission. Upload copyrighted content on web pages – Uploading protected content on easily accessible websites is also illegal. Modifying protected images – Some images or logos may be protected against copying.
There is no general exception that allows 10 per cent of a work to be reproduced without infringing copyright. Where a part of a work is copied, the issue is whether a substantial part of that work has been reproduced and an infringement has occurred.
Under those guidelines, a prose work may be reproduced in its entirety if it is less than 2500 words in length.
If you want to waive all intellectual property rights that you're granted under copyright laws, then put the phrase 'No Rights Reserved' at the end of your copyright disclaimer. However, the more common way to express reserving no rights over your property is to use the Creative Commons signifier CC0.
You can typically request a court order demanding the infringing party to immediately stop using the copyrighted material and ask for money damages (that is, monetary compensation) for any actual harm that has occurred as a direct result of the infringement.
Section 107 of the Copyright Act provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that may qualify as fair use.
The "15 Second" or "8 Bar" Rule
The reality is that there is no legal protection in copyright law for these types of use. If you use a piece of a composition or sound recording that is copyrighted, you will need a license.
Copyright does not protect ideas, concepts, systems, or methods of doing something. You may express your ideas in writing or drawings and claim copyright in your description, but be aware that copyright will not protect the idea itself as revealed in your written or artistic work.
Criminal offences are prosecuted under the Criminal Code. Penalties for copyright offences range from monetary fines to imprisonment.
Copyright does not protect ideas or information, only the original expression of ideas or information. Copyright does not prevent someone else from independently producing the same work. Copyright does not usually protect names and titles, as these are not considered original enough.
Infringement notice penalties
$16,500 (60 penalty units) for conduct on or after 1 January 2023.
Copyright works such as text, images, art works, music, sounds, or movies.
It is now codified in Section 107 of the Copyright Act, which provides that fair use of a work “for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use, scholarship, or research)” is not an infringement of copyright.
For example, copyright does not protect factual information or data, titles, short word combinations, names, characters, slogans, themes, plots, or ideas. These may be used or copied without permission or payment of royalties (unless they happen to be protected under trademark law).
There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentage of a work.
Giving credit to the owner of a copyrighted work won't by itself turn a non-transformative copy of their material into fair use. Phrases like “all rights go to the author” and “I do not own” don't automatically mean you're making fair use of that material. They also don't mean you have the copyright owner's permission.
Unfortunately, there are no fixed standards as to how much of a song you can use without infringing the song owner's copyright. Of course, the shorter you can make the clip, the stronger your argument for fair use protection.
Section 107 of the Copyright Act gives examples of purposes that are favored by fair use: “criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, [and] research.” Use for one of these “illustrative purposes” is not automatically fair, and uses for other purposes can be ...
For example, in the United States, copyright rights are limited by the doctrine of "fair use," under which certain uses of copyrighted material for, but not limited to, criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research may be considered fair.
Copyright infringement can occur even unintentionally. For instance, you might publish an image on a blog post you found on the internet. Unfortunately, in some cases, this can fall under copyright infringement.
Common copyright myths
Giving credit to the copyright owner doesn't automatically give you the rights to use their copyrighted work. You need to make sure you've secured all the necessary rights to all copyright-protected elements in your video before you upload it to YouTube.
Downloading or uploading copyrighted work without authority constitutes an infringement. Willful copyright infringement can result in criminal penalties including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.