Is copying and selling unregistered material illegal?
By Yahoo User • Category: Copyrights RegistrationI am an officer in Law Enforcement and around 1995 we produced a govermnent video about avoiding drug use. This work is not registered under any copyright registration, nor is any mention of the copyright listed anywhere on or in the video. I spearheaded the project, however recieved no credit as “producer” on the credits, only for my appearance in the film (an outside editing company was used). I was interesting in copying the tape and selling it to several friends of mine. Is this illegal? I know I can sell my original copy, but can I legally sell any reproduced copies?
Copyright doesn’t need to be registered to be in effect. You cannot legally reproduce and sell it; it was work-for-hire and ownership rests with the agency that commissioned it.
The video may still be subject to copyright protection, even though that copyright was not registered. If it is protected, the making copies without the copyright owner’s permission is copyright infringement and subject to civil, and in some cases, criminal penalties. The question then is who owns the copyright? You don’t mention whether you work for the federal or state governments and whether or not the project was funded by your department. In general, the federal government does not own a copyright in the work it creates (although it can hold the copyrights of works assigned to it in some cases). States have their own rules governing copyright ownership.On the assumption that you work for a state agency, and that agency funded your video, you should get permission from the agency prior to copying the video.
These answers are right. Even though no formal copyright was filed, whomever “created” the film is the rightful owner of the product. This is the same with art work, music, etc. Copyrighting is just a formality anymore.
If you are in the US, a work is copyrighted as soon as it is created. Registration and copyright notice are optional. The federal government does not retain copyright to its works, but I believe it is illegal to profit from them. States generally retain copyright, so if you work for a city police department, you can’t. Either way, I think the right thing for you to do would be to give your friends copies. It would be for a good cause anyway.