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Copyright and you
What is Copyright?
When a person expresses himself by creating a literary,
dramatic, musical or artistic work, he has copyright in the
work. Such work include books, periodicals, magazines,
compilations of information, photographs, diagrams, dances,
scripts for plays, computer programs, drawings, sculpture,
musical scores, lyrics, sound recordings, cinematographic
films, television broadcasts and cable programmes.
The law protects the creator’s expression manifested through
the work but not the information contained in the work. For
example, where 2 persons present the same statistics in
different ways, the law will allow each of them to publish their
presentation and prevent others from publishing the same
presentation. Others may use the same statistics to make
different presentations.
Copyright in literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works last
for the lifetime of the creator and continues for 70 years after
his death.
Copyright in sound recordings and films last for 70 years from
the date of first publication. Copyright in television and sound
broadcasts and cable programmes last for 50 years from the
end of the calendar year in which they were first broadcast or
included in a cable programme service.
Who Owns Copyright and What Rights Does the Owner
Have?
The creator of the work will own the copyright in it and so the
law gives him the exclusive right to publish, reproduce,
communicate and benefit from the work in other ways. Other
persons cannot do so without the permission of the copyright
owner.
The copyright owner may permit others to publish, reproduce
or communicate the work through agreements like licences.
The owner may set conditions for such permission such as
charging a fee.
Exceptions
However the permission of the owner is not required:
1. Where the work is copied for self-study or research, that is,
only 1 article in a periodical publication is copied or not
more than 10% is copied of a published work which
consists of 10 pages or more or not more than 1 chapter is
copied of a work which is divided into chapters.
2. Where the work is in electronic form and not more than
10% of the total number of bytes in that edition is copied or
10% of the total number of words in that edition or of the
contents of that edition is copied.
3. Where a computer program is reproduced is made on
behalf of the owner as a back-up copy of the original
computer program.
4. Where an audio visual work (such as sound recording,
cinematograph film, sound broadcast, television broadcast
or cable programme) is copied for research or private
study, subject to certain qualifications specified in the
Copyright Act.
5. Where a film or recording of television or sound broadcast
or cable programmes is copied for private and domestic
use. It should not be seen or heard in public.
6. Where a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work is copied
for criticism or review, and for the reporting of current
events, and sufficient acknowledgment of the work is
made.
7. Where a work is copied after the copyright in the work
ceases.
What Are The Consequences Of Copyright Infringement?
In Singapore, copyright is protected mainly by the Copyright
Act (Cap. 63).
A person who publishes, reproduces or communicates a
copyright work without the permission of the Owner infringes
his copyright. It is also an infringement to authorise others to
infringe copyright, such as requesting a photocopying shop to
make a copy of the book.
The person who infringes copyright may be sued by the owner
for monetary compensation such as profits made from the
infringement. The owner may also obtain a court order to
prevent further infringement.
Where the infringement is intentional and the infringement is
significant or gives the infringer a commercial benefit, the
infringer may be fined in court up to $20,000 and/or jailed for
not more than 6 months. Second or subsequent offences may
attract the maximum fine of $50,000 and the longest
imprisonment term of 3 years. An example of a significant
infringement is the massive regular downloading of songs or
movies using peer-to-peer networks.
A person who is found with 5 or more infringing copies of any
work is presumed to be in possession of them for sale and
may be fined $10,000/- for each infringing article or
$100,000/- whichever is lower. He may also be jailed for not
longer than 5 years. In both cases, the infringing copies or
anything used to make the infringing copies may be destroyed
or surrendered to the copyright owner.
Conclusion
The University takes a serious view of any infringement of
copyright by students and a contravention of the provisions of
the Copyright Act is deemed to be a breach of the University’s
rules and regulations, which could result in disciplinary action.
The University advises all students to respect the copyright of
all copyright owners’ works and encourages the purchase of
original textbooks, CDs, DVDs and/or other copyrighted
materials that are required for your courses of study. The cost
of these materials is insignificant compared to the penalties
for copyright infringement.
Honour code
The University cannot emphasise enough the importance of
shared responsibility between students and the rest of the
University community to maintain its reputation for excellence
not only in teaching and research, but also for upholding high
standards of conduct in every sphere of its activities.
The Honour Code assumes the academic, intellectual and
ethical standards which the University also expects of its
students in every sphere of their activities.
These standards are based on the following beliefs to which
the University is committed: