Reproduction (Section 106(1))
The most common type of copyright infringement is copying (or, as it's referred to in the Copyright Act, "reproducing"). Copies may be made in all sorts of different formats, such as paper, microform, or digital.
Before personal computers and the Internet became common, copying was a straightforward issue. You knew when you were making a copy, and most forms of communication didn't involve copying. If you wanted to share a document, you pinned it on a bulletin board, routed it through a distribution list, or sent it by mail, without making a copy. If you did copy, you had to use a photocopier, retype text, or engage in some similar physical activity.
Today, it's much easier to copy. We can create digital copies with the click of a button, and modern forms of communication encourage us to copy without thinking about it. If you post a document on the Web instead of a bulletin board, you've made a copy. If you send a document by e-mail instead of the postal service, you've made a copy. Unfortunately for users, e-mailing an infringing copy as an attachment is just as bad as making a photocopy.
Modern technology has changed what was once a straightforward issue into a somewhat difficult one, so today's users need to be especially alert when it comes to copying. Generally, any action that transfers a file from one electronic device to another involves making a copy, even if you intend to erase that copy at some point in the future.[1]
Remember that sharing material doesn't have to involve copying. Sharing a link to material on the Web is not a form of copying, nor is sharing an existing physical copy. Although some types of copying are
- ↑ The legal definition of "copy" in the electronic environment is complicated and, at times, surprising. Many users might think that an electronic copy is made only by saving a file, but a federal appellate court has held that copying can occur when information is merely loaded into a device's memory. MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc., 991, F.2d 511, 518-19 (9th Cir. 1993). If the information exists in the device's memory for "more than a transitory duration," it's a copy. 17 U.S.C. § 101 (2006). This worrisome legal definition is mitigated by other rules. For example, under an implied license theory, you may browse Web pages, even though copies of the content are made in your computer's memory. We'll further discuss digital content in Chapter Six.
