0.2 The scope of copyright law  (Page 7/10)

The relationship between copyright infringement and other unauthorized activities

Copyright infringement  is the unauthorized use of a copyrighted work in a manner that violates one of the copyright holder’s exclusive rights and does not fall into any of the exceptions to or limitations on the holder's rights. We will examine those rights and exceptions in detail in  Module 4: Rights, Exceptions, and Limitations . It should be emphasized that copyright infringement covers only a subset of the ways in which copyrighted works may be used without permission.

Some uses of copyrighted works may not infringe copyright but may violate other legal rules. Others may violate nonlegal social norms. Still others may be lawful uses that are socially approved. This complex pattern of norms finds expression in a variety of terms that are frequently confused. We explain some of them below; they will be studied further in  Module 7: Enforcement .

"Plagiarism"  is the use of someone else's ideas or words without properly crediting the source. It is entirely separate from copyright law. Plagiarism is not a violation of legal rules, but instead of social norms. Common social sanctions for plagiarism are expulsion or suspension from school, discharge from a job, and social disapproval.

Customs and attitudes pertaining to plagiarism vary somewhat by country. For example, recently a young German novelist was found to have copied without permission or attribution significant passages from other novels.  She has been treated much more leniently  than  a young American author who a few years ago engaged in very similar behavior.  Attitudes toward plagiarism even vary somewhat between academic disciplines. For example, the definition of plagiarism adopted by the American Historical Association  is not exactly the same as  the standard adopted by the Modern Language Association . Finally,  plagiarism by corporate executives  is often treated as much less serious than plagiarism by novelists, academics, or journalists.

“Piracy”  has no strict definition within (or outside of) copyright law. In recent years, the term has become a common way for some to refer to unauthorized and unexcused reproductions of audio and video recordings. However, the copyright laws do not themselves refer to “piracy.” Since the term is associated with the violence that accompanies the seizure of ships on the high seas, many argue that it is misleading when used in connection with unauthorized uses of creative works.

“Counterfeiting”  is defined in various ways. Most often, the term refers to the creation or distribution of imitations of genuine works with the intent to deceive the public about their authenticity. Counterfeiting in this sense is governed primarily by trademark law and the law of unfair competition, not by copyright law. However, the proposed  Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) , currently under negotiation (as discussed in  Module 2: The International Framework ), may, when finished, require member countries to expand the coverage of copyright law in this area.