It's UP to you !!!

Passing off or Inspiration?

PASSING OFF is the act of passing off someone else's work as your own. Sometimes the instance occurs when two pieces of work are very similar and there becomes a grey area where the difference between the work becomes blurred. Which came first and whether one has influenced the other. Where does the law lie in these situations?

In 2005, a group of students from the French academy ESRA (Ecole Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle) started production on a Computer Animated short called Above then Beyond, which they then completed a year later. Then in 2009, Pixar released their 10th Computer Animated feature film called  Up. It was not until a year later that people have begun to notice similarities between the two. Was Pixar inspired by this French short film, or is it all just a coincidence?
Click on the link to see the film in question:
http://dai.ly/dzVCRK

Comparitive stills of both films

 The similarities are obvious, but had Pixar stolen the idea and passed it off as their own? Researchers from the website youthoughtwewouldntnotice.com, contacted one of the students involved, Yannick Banchereau, and asked if Pixar bought the rights to their concept or if it was purely a coincidence. This is what he said:

“Well, no, none of us went to work at Pixar, if you know someone who is in Supinfgraph, you should know that ESRA has a partnership with Pixar, so we concluded that for Pixar to see our film among those that ESRA had sent them, and they “kept” (stolen?) the idea into a feature film … Unfortunately the film does not belong to us because this was done as part of our studies, so we can do nothing … Thank you for your interest, it’s good to see that someone has acknowledged our film (even if the quality is far from the Pixar)”

Pixar have shown evidence of concept art that is dated as far back as 2004, but it is still unclear as to whether Pixar had seen the student's film during the development process of Up, or whether it is merely an amazing coincidence.

However as the film was created as part of the student's studies, they do not own the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) to it. These would instead belong to ESRA. This is often the case within colleges and universities. Each institution has a different policy, but on the whole, whatever you create automatically becomes their property on submission.

NB: In certain situations the institution can pass the IPR back to the student to allow the student to use the work as required.

Copyright Duration

How long does copyright last?

Copyright protects work for limited periods of time. The length of time depends on the type of work. Generally this is as follows:

Literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works (including a photograph)

Copyright lasts for 70 years following the death of the author/creator. If the work has been created by several people, copyright lasts until 70 years following the death of the last surviving author. (70 years is from 31st December of the year in which the author dies)  N.B. Certain works fall outside this 70 year protection.

Films

Copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the last to survive of the principal director, the authors of the screenplay and dialogue or the composer of the music especially created for the film (70 years is from 31st December of the year in which the author died).

Sound recordings

Copyright lasts for 50 years from 31st December of the year of the first recording or transmission.

Broadcasts and cable programmes

Copyright lasts for 50 years from 31st December of the year of the first recording or transmission. Some broadcasts via the internet which are intended for concurrent reception by members of the public are now also included in this category.

Typographical arrangement of a published work

Copyright lasts for 25 years from 31st December of the year in which the edition was first published.

Databases

Databases have full copyright protection for seventy years from the date of creation if the content and arrangements are considered original. i.e. if a database is compiled using skill and creativity it is protected by copyright. A database which, although it does not require creativity in its compilation, nonetheless requires a substantial investment in obtaining, verifying and presenting its contents, is protected by a "database right" which protects against copying and lasts for fifteen years and may be renewed if the database undergoes major (substantial) changes. Downloading from an online database to paper format is permitted only under the relevant terms of the licence from the database owner, as contractual terms will vary from one owner to another.

Computer programmes

Computer programme copyright lasts for 70 years from 31st December of the year in which the author dies.

Copyright Rights

What are the Different Rights?

Copyright ensures that the creator of an original work retains the right to control their own work and how it is used by others. Copyright is actually composed of a number of different rights, some of which can be contractually assigned to different parties, often by means of a licence.

Moral Rights

Moral Rights are concerned with protecting the personality and reputation of the author/creator.

Paternity Right

This Moral Right is the right to be recognised as the creator of the work. They also have the right not to have works that they did not create attributed to them.

Integrity Right

This is the creator’s right not to have their work treated in a derogatory way i.e not to have their work distorted by addition, deletion or changes to its meaning.

Assignable Rights

The following rights can be assigned via contract or licence to another person or body, such as a publisher:

•Copying

•Issuing copies to the public

•Performance

•Communicating the work by electronic means

•Adaptation and translation

•Dramatisation

•Lending and rental

•Publication

•Making available a right

Copyright ?

The Definition of Copyright

Copyright legislates the fair use and reproduction of original creations. Anything printed, written or recorded will be subject to copyright law from the moment it is created. Copyright law exists to give legal protection to creators and publishers of works which include: books, films, sound recordings, newspaper and journal articles, dramatic works, photographs, and computer programmes, amongst others.

Copyright will ensure that the creator of an original work will retain their right to control their own work and how it is used by others, what proportion of a piece of work can be reproduced and how that copy is then used. Amongst the rights that are protected by the Copyright Act are the Moral Rights of the creator which includes the Paternity Right and the Integrity Right.

The author of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works and film directors have a moral right to be identified as the creator of the work in certain circumstances e.g. when copies are issued to the public. This act is known as the Paternity Right. Moral rights are also concerned with protecting the personality and reputation of the creator of an original work, this includes the moral right not to have a work falsely attributed to them or to have their own work subject to any derogatory treatment. Derogatory treatment is  any alteration of a work by deleting from, adding to, distorting or adapting a work without due acknowledgement.

One of the most important functions of copyright law is to act as a safeguard to originality. Without it there would be little encouragement for people to create anything as others would be able to take their work and use it as they wished and any financial incentive would be removed. In conclusion copyright law protects the development of writing, performing and creating whilst enabling access to original works/copyright material.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) ?

Definition of Intellectual Property:

Intellectual Property Rights is a 'blanket term' that refers to the ways in which original creations and the rights of their creators are protected. Some IPRs are automatic, however some have to be registered. The basic idea of IPRs is to ensure that a creation is not copied or reused without permission and to protect any renumeration of the creators. The ‘property’ itself may include things such as designs, trademarks, literature, films or inventions.  On the whole this ‘Property’ must be tangible. An exception to this is the planning and theory of an invention, and this can be protected as long as it has not yet been released into the public domain, and is then recorded in some way and fulfils the other criteria for Patenting.

There are 4 x distinct types of IPR and they cover the creator and creations in slightly different ways:

Patents:

Patents are assigned through applying to the UK Patent Office, and are issued to protect any inventions from being copied, reproduced or sold without the permission of the inventor. Patents are issued for a limited amount of time only and basically ensures that the inventor gets any initial monetary benefit that the invention may generate. The invention must be new, innovative and must be able to be used in any type of industry. General Patent length is set at 20 years in the UK.

Trademarks:

A trademark is defined as a sign which distinguishes one service or product from another. This sign may be in the form of a logo, words, colour schemes, or even slogans. Once a trademark has been registered, any infingements of the creator's rights will be liable for legal action. These infringements include any alterations, copying or any other misuse.

Designs:

A design is defined as 'features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to an article by an industrial process' and which have individual character. These designs can be protected by three legal rights within the UK. These are as follows:

1.Registered Designs: The right to take legal action against infringements, such as using or modifying all or part of the design. This kind of Design Right has to be applied for.

2.Unregistered Designs: This differs in that you do not have to apply for this and it only lasts for a limited period of time with a maximum of 15 years.

3.Copyright.

Copyright:

Copyright is also a type of IPR. It legislates the fair use and reproduction of original creations. Anything  that is printed, written or recorded, in any format is subject to copyright law from the moment it is created. Copyright law gives legal protection works such as:

•Books (fiction and non-fiction)

•Films

•Sound recordings

•Newspaper and journal articles

•Dramatic works

•Photographs

•Computer programmes

One of the most important functions of Copyright is to act as a safeguard to originality.

Summary:

There are Registered and Unregistered Rights in IPR.

•Registered = Patents, Registered Designs, Trade marks

•Unregistered Rights= Copyright, Design Right, Performance Right.