Introduction to Computers
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Copyright Basics Reading Review
Read the Copyright Basics article located at http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf,
then answer the following questions.
1. Copyright law protects “original works of authorship” including all of the
following EXCEPT:
a. Music and lyrics
b. Paintings
c. Novels
d. Instructions or procedures
2. Owners of copyrighted works have all of the following exclusive rights EXCEPT:
a. The right to reproduce their work
b. The right to distribute their work
c. The right to recall or buy back their work once it has been sold or
distributed
d. The right to perform or display their work
3. Based on the description provided at the top of page 2, would each of the
following be protected under copyright law? Write a “Yes” or “No” beside each
scenario. In addition, explain WHY or WHY NOT.
a. You have recorded a song on your computer, but you have NOT written
down any lyrics or music on paper
b. You have written a short story for submission to your school newspaper,
and saved it in a Word document on your computer.
c. You are telling a story around a campfire, making it up as you go along.
d. You write a poem on the back of a napkin, and put it in your wallet.
4. You are a computer programmer and work for Microsoft. While you are at work,
you create a new game to be included in the newest version of Windows,
“Windows Useless”. Who owns the copyright to this work?
5. You have just purchased a copy of a new Hannah Montana CD from Best Buy.
(Don’t ask me why you would do that, you’re the one who bought it… not me!!)
Since you have purchased the CD, you are now the copyright owner and have all
rights of a copyright owner. TRUE or FALSE. Why?
6. You are the guitar player in a rockin’ new funk-metal Vegas lounge act, and you
have written the lyrics to a new song. Your partner, the bagpipe player in the
band, wrote the music to the song. The lead singer sings the song at a concert.
Who owns the copyright to the song?
a. Only you – since you wrote the lyrics for the song
b. All three of you – since you all are performers in the band
c. The lead singer – since he sings the songs and wears the cool leather pants
d. You and the bagpipe player only – since you actually wrote the music and
lyrics
True or False
7. Since a dance cannot be written down, it cannot be copyrighted.
8. Architectural drawings, such as the floorplan for a house, are not creative works,
so it cannot be copyrighted.
9. A photograph of a landscape cannot be copyrighted since you are not the creator
of the landscape, you only took a picture of it.
10. You cannot copyright a common phrase, such as Paris Hilton’s “That’s Hot!”.