Ads
related to: idea and expression copyright free images
Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Furthermore, it is not clear that there is any real distinction between the idea in a work of art and its expression. An artist's idea, among other things, is to depict a particular subject in a particular way. As a demonstration, a number of cases from this Circuit have observed that a photographer's "conception" of his subject is copyrightable.
The case caused some controversy, as appearing to widen the scope of copyright protection in the composition of visual images. [2] Intellectual property barrister Jane Lambert expressed unease at the decision, over the move towards protection of idea rather than expression of an idea. [3]
The idea–expression divide differentiates between ideas and expression, and states that copyright protects only the original expression of ideas, and not the ideas themselves. This principle, first clarified in the 1879 case of Baker v.
Another author is free to describe the same theory in their own words without infringing on the original author's copyright. [8] Although fundamental, the idea–expression dichotomy is often difficult to put into practice. Reasonable people can disagree about where the unprotectable "idea" ends and the protectable "expression" begins.
United States copyright law protects original expressions but not facts, methods, discoveries, or other ideas being expressed, a doctrine known as the idea–expression distinction. Despite making this distinction, verbatim copying is not always required for copyright infringement, as paraphrasing is also prohibited in certain circumstances. [6]
Autodesk Inc v Dyason (No.2), [9] (1993) 111 ALR 385 (the idea-expression divide is the "dominant principle in copyright law" per Mason CJ: "when the expression of any idea is inseparable from its function, it forms part of the idea and is not entitled to the protection of copyright" per Dawson J)