Copyright Laws and the University of Marylands Academic Integrity Research Paper

Copyright Laws and the University of Marylands Academic Integrity Policy - Research Paper Example This paper will discuss the issue of copyright laws and compares such laws to the University of Maryland’s integrity policy. Copyright according to the Australian’s Attorney General’s Department is a type of legal protection for persons who express original information or ideas in specific forms. According to the department, some of the most common of these forms include moving images, music, visual images, paintings, photographs, computer programs, maps, dramatic works and writing just to mention a few. Copyright in this respect protects not the information or ideas expressed but the form in which they are expressed or fixated. Under the United States’ copyright laws (Clause 8 of the constitution), copyright is defined as the set of exclusive rights that are given to innovators or originators of works. Such rights include copying, distributing and adapting the works. In most countries including the United States of America, copyright does not have to be r egistered but arises at the moment the work is fixated. Once a copyright comes into force, the owner of the copyright has the special rights to control the copying and other exploitative activities that may be performed on the works for a certain period of time. Once this period of time expires, the work goes to the public domain. There are a number of exceptions and limitations that exist to the use of copyrighted material. One such limitation is fair use which requires not the permission of the copyright owner. All other uses of copyrighted materials demand permission from their owners who can opt to license or transfer the ownership exclusively to other parties.