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How Can Your SME Benefit From
Copyright?
By: World Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO)
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Is
your enterprise involved in the
creation, recording,
publication, dissemination,
distribution or retailing of
artistic, musical or
literary works?
Does your company have a
website, a brochure, a
corporate video, or does it
advertise on newspapers or TV?
Is
your SME using music, pictures,
or software products owned by
others in any of its
publications, brochures,
databases or websites?
Does your company own the rights
to any computer software?
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Once you have a clearer picture
on the basics of copyright
protection you may wish to know
what your
SME should do to:
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▪
Legitimately use or exploit the
works or creations of others
with the authorization of the
author or right holder on fair
and reasonable terms;
▪
Protect your own works or
creations and make sure you make
best use of your right and get
fair economic rewards from any
use made of your creations.
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Useful Tips for Your SME as a
Copyright User
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For some enterprises, the use or
exploitation of copyrighted
works, sound recordings,
broadcasts or performances may
be a central part of their daily
business activities. This may be
the case for radio stations,
publishing houses, libraries,
shops or nightclubs. For others,
it may simply be an occasional
tool used for enhancing
corporate publications, websites
and other
marketing
devices. For others still, use
of copyright material may be
confined to the use of their
computer software. In all such
cases, you may wish to consider
the following issues:
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Do I need a license?
Probably the most important
thing to know for an enterprise
using or dealing in works
protected by copyright or
related rights is whether these
activities require a
license. As a general rule,
every commercial use or
exploitation of these rights
requires a license or an
assignment of the rights from
the right-owner.
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This ranges from the use of a
famous song in a TV
advertisement, to the sale and
distribution of digital copies,
and the use of software in a
company’s computers. In relation
to licensing, you should find
out whether the rights are
administered by a collective
management organization or by
the author or producer directly
and negotiate a license
agreement before you use or
exploit the product.
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Remember that litigation over
copyright infringement may be a
very expensive affair, and it
would be convenient to think
about these issues before you
get yourself, and your company,
into trouble! You may also wish
to seek advice about the terms
of your licensing agreement
before you sign. In the case of
certain products such as
packaged software, the product
is often licensed to you upon
purchase. The terms and
conditions of the license are
often contained in the package
which can be returned if you do
not agree with the terms and
conditions of the license.
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In
recent years, the development of
“one stop shops”, bringing
together various collective
management societies that can
easily and quickly deliver
authorizations is considered to
be particularly useful for
multimedia productions that
require a wide variety of
authorizations. Dealing with
collective management societies,
wherever possible, may save you
a lot of time and money.
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Can you freely use works
published on the Internet?
A
common misperception is that
works published on the
Internet are in the public
domain and may therefore be
widely used by anybody without
the authorization of the right
owner. Any works
created by humans – as
opposed to works created by
artificial intelligence (AI)
– protected by copyright or
related rights, ranging from
musical compositions, to
multimedia products, newspaper
articles and audiovisual
productions for which the time
of protection has not expired,
are protected regardless of
whether they are published on
paper or by other means for
example, on the Internet.
In
each case you should, generally,
seek the authorization of the
right owner prior to use.
Similarly, authorization is
required if your SME is engaged
in publishing or making
copyright works, sound
recordings, broadcasts or
performances available through
your Internet website.
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Useful Tips for Your SME as a
Copyright Owner
are
here
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