What is copyright infringement?
If you have a question about whether what you are doing is copyright infringement, you should consult with a lawyer. Generally, copyright infringement involves making a copy of someone else’s work without their permission. For more information on this Act, please refer to the U.S. Copyright Office Web Site at http://www.copyright.gov.
Copyright doesn’t protect ideas or information, but rather the expression of those ideas or information – however, it would be a mistake to assume that something has to be copied exactly to be an infringement of copyright. The IP Law Blog, in The Complexity of Proving Copyright Infringement , provides us with an example of a copyright infringement claim based upon an HBO miniseries, and a film that had a similar storyline. They tell us that: Absent evidence of direct copying, “proof of infringement” involves fact-based showings that the defendant had “access” to the plaintiff’s work and that the two works are “substantially similar.” So, to pursue a claim of copyright infringement doesn’t necessarily mean that an infringing work has to be identical to the original, but rather that the person responsible for infringing the work had access to the original work, and that the newer work is substantially similar to the original. The website of Ladas & Parry LLP provides more about the simil
To be on the safe side, any block published more than 95 years ago it is now in public domain and you are safe to use it. Some materials may come into public domain sooner because before 1978 the copyright holder had to actively renew their copyright. If you want to use a source less than 95 years old, you would have to investigate to determine if the copyright was renewed or not. (US Copyright Office Circular 1, Copyright Basics, page 6, http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.
Copyright law gives a creator of music, literature and other works a limited monopoly to reproduce or distribute the created work. A person or entity is accused of copyright infringement when someone claims they violated copyright by copying part or all of a work without authorization or enabled other people to make such copies.
