重要的是要认识到版权法已经发生了变化,对于非美国来源,特别是在美国于1989年3月1日加入《伯尔尼公约》之后,版权注册不再是执行版权通知的必要条件。
以下是引用自康奈尔大学法学院的resumé(2015年3月4日,转载自https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/copyright:)
“版权
版权:概述
The U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 - 810, is Federal legislation
enacted by Congress under its Constitutional grant of authority to
protect the writings of authors. See U.S. Constitution, Article I,
Section 8. Changing technology has led to an ever expanding
understanding of the word "writings." The Copyright Act now reaches
architectural design, software, the graphic arts, motion pictures, and
sound recordings. See § 106. As of January 1, 1978, all works of
authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression and within the
subject matter of copyright were deemed to fall within the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Copyright Act regardless of whether the work was
created before or after that date and whether published or
unpublished. See § 301. See also preemption.
The owner of a copyright has the exclusive right to reproduce,
distribute, perform, display, license, and to prepare derivative works
based on the copyrighted work. See § 106. The exclusive rights of the
copyright owner are subject to limitation by the doctrine of "fair
use." See § 107. Fair use of a copyrighted work for purposes such as
criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research
is not copyright infringement. To determine whether or not a
particular use qualifies as fair use, courts apply a multi-factor
balancing test. See § 107.
Copyright protection subsists in original works of authorship fixed in
any tangible medium of expression from which they can be perceived,
reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid
of a machine or device. See § 102. Copyright protection does not
extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation,
concept, principle, or discovery. For example, if a book is written
describing a new system of bookkeeping, copyright protection only
extends to the author's description of the bookkeeping system; it does
not protect the system itself. See Baker v. Selden, 101 U.S. 99
(1879).
According to the Copyright Act of 1976, registration of copyright is
voluntary and may take place at any time during the term of
protection. See § 408. Although registration of a work with the
Copyright Office is not a precondition for protection, an action for
copyright infringement may not be commenced until the copyright has
been formally registered with the Copyright Office. See § 411.
Deposit of copies with the Copyright Office for use by the Library of
Congress is a separate requirement from registration. Failure to
comply with the deposit requirement within three months of publication
of the protected work may result in a civil fine. See § 407. The
Register of Copyrights may exempt certain categories of material from
the deposit requirement.
In 1989 the U.S. joined the Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works. In accordance with the requirements of
the Berne Convention, notice is no longer a condition of protection
for works published after March 1, 1989. This change to the notice
requirement applies only prospectively to copies of works publicly
distributed after March 1, 1989.
The Berne Convention also modified the rule making copyright
registration a precondition to commencing a lawsuit for infringement.
For works originating from a Berne Convention country, an infringement
action may be initiated without registering the work with the U.S.
Copyright Office. However, for works of U.S. origin, registration
prior to filing suit is still required.
The federal agency charged with administering the act is the Copyright
Office of the Library of Congress. See § 701 of the act. Its
regulations are found in Parts 201 - 204 of title 37 of the Code of
Federal Regulations."