More about copyright

Copyright law

In 1960, a law was passed that gives the creator of a work the right to decide for themselves how it is to be used. All authors, regardless of their nationality, thus enjoy the same protection and, unlike when applying for a patent, no formal application is required in order to obtain copyright protection. The right to copy pages from copyrighted works is very limited.

The Act on Copyright in Literary and Artistic Works 1960:729

Author and level of originality

The author is the person who has made an original or personal work. It could be that you have written a book, developed computer programs, taken a photo, written a piece of music or painted a painting.

No formal registration is required to receive this protection, but the work must have a level of originality, which means that the artistic and personal appearance of the work has been assessed. The term is "originality". It should therefore be so distinctive that two people cannot create the same product. It is a difficult area and one should assume that everything has a level of originality.

Term

A work is, according to the Copyright Act, protected 70 years after the death of the author. If the work has more authors, it is protected 70 years after the death of the last author. The symbol for copyright, © , can serve as a reminder that a work is protected, but has no legal effect in Sweden.The Copyright Act must be interpreted restrictively. If there is no restriction on the author's exclusive right, the permission of the rightholder is required.

Economic and moral rights

Copyright consists of:

• the moral right, i.e. the right to be named in connection with the use of the work and the right to oppose the work being altered. This right cannot be sold or inherited. If someone uses parts of a work and in any way infringes the author, he or she can claim damages.
  
  
• the economic right (the right of disposal), i.e. the right to copy the work and make it available to the public. For example, the author himself or herself may remake the original work and may also publish it wherever he or she wishes. The right can be sold/transferred. It is this part that you "live on".

Limitations

The author does not have unlimited exclusive rights to his or her work. There are exceptions that limit the exclusive right. Here a balance is made between the author's and society's interest.

Copyright does not apply:

• Constitutions
• Decisions by authorities
• Statement by Swedish authorities

Creative Commons

For more than ten years, Creative Commons licenses have made it easier for authors who want to share part or all of the works they have created.

Read more about this on the pages Creative Commons and CC Search.

Academic honesty

Using other people's texts to, for example, clarify one's own thoughts and reinforce one's theses is a reality today, but one must remember to talk about who created the material one wants to use. Plagiarism is something that is not accepted because it means that you present yourself as the author of a work, a presentation, etc., even though someone else owns the rights.

• Be clear about what is yours and what others have done!
• Ask your teacher or colleagues what is free to use, but don't forget to state the author even if you have asked for permission
• Do not change the material - it is an infringement of the author's rights!

Read more about what and how you can copy.