Copyright 101
The law protects original creations like songs, movies, books, and photographs from being copied without permission.
What is copyright?
You repost someone's instagram photo and clearly give them credit, but you never asked for permission. Does giving credit automatically make the use legal?
No. Giving credit does not automatically give you permission to use the copyrighted content.
An influencer is paid by a clothing company to post about its products.
What is a sponsorship / paid advertisement?
A person invents a brand new machine and recieves legal protection for the invention. What type of protection gives them rights over the invention?
What is a patent?
The victim, Karrington, was found near a pathway leading toward what recreation center.
Banneker Recreation Center
T or F: A song can be protected by copyright?
What is true?
You buy a song online and then upload the full song to your YouTube channel for everyone to hear. Does purchasing the song give the right to upload it?
No. Buying a copy does not give you the copyright or distribution rights.
What is impersonation / misuse of identity?
Nike's name and famous "Swoosh" help customers identify its products. What type of intellectual property protects brand names and logos?
What is a trademark?
What was Karrington's official cause of death?
Multiple stab wounds.
If you take an original photograph, who usually owns the copyright to that photo?
A student creates a T-shirt using a university's official logo and begins selling it online without authorization. Could this create a legal issue.
Yes. It could raise a trademark issue.
What is defamation?
A chef creates a secret sauce recipe and keeps the recipe confidential so competitors cannot copy it. What type of intellectual property could protect this confidential information?
Shortly before her death, Karrington had a heated public argument with which suspect over financial management of the foundation?
Josh Lewis, her husband.
Copying someone else's creative work without permission may be called copyright _____________.
What is infringement?
An influencer takes a copyrighted photograph, changes the colors, adds text, crops it, and then sells the edited image on the merchandise without permission. They argue that the edits make it a completely new work. Is it automatically legal because they changed the original?
No. Editing or changing copyrighted material does not automatically make it legal to use. The new version may still infringe on the original creator's copyright.
A social media user posts a false accusation about a local business even after learning the accusation false, and continued to leave the post up. This causing the business to lose customers. What legal claim could the business potentially bring?
What is defamation?
A scientist working for a pharmaceutical company invents a new drug while performing the research they were hired to do. Who would most likely have the rights to the invention?
The pharmaceutical company / employer.
Which suspect was captured leaving through the north service exit around 9:40 AM—the same period in which Karrington was estimated to have died?
David, Karrington's Therapist.
This term describes certain situations where copyrighted material may be used without the owner's permission, such as for criticism and commentary.
What is fair use?
A student makes a shot documentary about famous musicians which includes several brief clips of copyrighted music without permission. However, he was criticizing and analyzing each song. The record label threatened to sue for copyright infringement. Is the student's use automatically illegal because they did not get permission.
No, not automatically. They use could potentially qualify as fair use because the music is being used for criticism and commentary. A court would consider multiple factors before determining whether it is fair use.
Someone gains access to another person's private social media account by guessing their password and reads their private messages without permission. Even if they never post or share the messages could they be held responsible and for what?
Yes and computer hacking / unauthorized-access laws.
Two friends start a clothing company together. One later leaves the business, but the company continues using the brand name they created together. What legal document would be most important in determining who has the right to continue using the brand?
Their ownership / partnership agreement.
Investigators recovered a piece of evidence that transmitted information to an anonymous offshore entity only four minutes after Karrington left the terrace. What was the evidence and which suspect was it connected to?
An encrypted digital flash drive connected to David.