This document is a comprehensive guide on copyright infringement, explaining the nature of copyright, the rights of copyright owners, and the consequences of online piracy. It details the types of works protected by copyright, legal exceptions for using copyrighted materials, and the procedure for reporting infringements. The guide also emphasizes the importance of proactive protection against copyright violations in the digital landscape.

1. Full Guide to Copyright Infringements
Our guide to Copyright Infringement explains intellectual
property rights, copyright infringements, and online anti-piracy
protection.
What is Copyright Infringement
Copyright infringement, also referred to as piracy, is the violation of
someone else’s copyright by using works protected by copyright law
without permission.
Piracy infringes on exclusive rights that belong to the copyright
owner, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform
the protected work, or to make derivative works.
In today’s digital world, copyrights provide protection against piracy,
meaning the reproduction, distribution and adaptation of
copyrighted content and images, which has become so fast and
easy.
Let’s say you are a seller who sells products online, and you found
an image or item description that you feel can promote your
products. All you need to do is copy and paste.
However, if you use someone else’s content without permission,
you may violate copyright laws.

2. What is Copyright
Copyright is a form of intellectual property (IP) that protects “original
works of authorship…,” as described by the U.S. Copyright Office. It
grants legal protection to creators of artistic, literary, musical, and
scientific works.
Copyrights apply to various materials in different fields, such as
business, science, arts, and more. Some of the works protected by
copyright include:
• Books
• Logo Designs
• Articles

3. • Website Content
• Blog posts
• Computer Software
• Photographs
• Databases
• Recordings
• Advertisements
• Videos
• Illustrations
• Drawings
This list is partial, as copyrighted works may take many different
forms. All, of course, must be original.
On the contrary, using a word, a known expression, or something
standard which already exists does not qualify for copyright
protection because there is no creation of something new.
Ideas, concepts, methods, principles, discoveries, and systems
cannot be protected by copyright.
Copyright protection comes into being at the moment an original
work is created and fixed in a tangible medium of expression,
whether registered or not.
A tangible medium of expression means that the original work must
exist for it to be copyrighted.
A book, for example, is copyrighted whether it is published or not,
and whether it is printed on paper or available on a device such as
an e-reader.
Similarly, an illustration created and stored on a hard drive is fixed
in a tangible form and therefore protected by copyright.
For the protection of copyrights in US courts, the owner must
register his work with the U.S. Copyright Office.

4. Only if the work is created by a human being can it be registered.
Copyright protection usually lasts for the creator’s life plus 70
additional years.
What Are the Rights of Copyright
Owners
Copyrights grant the owner, whether a person or entity, exclusive
rights in the work.
Only the owner controls who uses their work, and only the owner
has the rights for reproduction, distribution, and adaptation.
Copyright ownership allows owners to authorize others to exercise
their intellectual property rights.
Authorization means that they can license their intellectual property
asset and monetize it.
In other words, you need permission from the owner, also called a
license. Without a license, unauthorized use may constitute an
infringement even if done unintentionally or for no monetary gain.

5. Online Piracy
Online Piracy or Digital Piracy is copyright infringement that usually
involves unauthorized uploading, downloading, streaming, and
sharing of copyrighted works without permission.
In today’s world, virtually every business creates online content.
Whether it is research, articles, or sales presentations used to
promote your business or social media posts and videos created for
the digital world, businesses present copyrighted works online
The Global Innovation Policy Center of the US Chamber of
Commerce estimated that digital video piracy costs the US
economy at least $29.2 billion in lost revenue each year and as
much as $71.0 billion annually.

6. And this is just for digital video in 2019, before the pandemic and
the explosion of short-form videos.
Some examples of Copyright Infringement
• Uploading someone else’s text to a web page
• Reproducing someone else’s copyrighted work without making
significant changes
• Uploading someone else’s photos to a website without
permission
• Posting someone else’s video without permission
• Selling merchandise that has copyrighted images on it
• Downloading songs without permission
To better understand the digital piracy landscape, let’s also look at
a few examples.
A. What is Copyright Infringement in Websites
Websites contain different elements, each with its own copyright
protection: text, photos, illustrations, videos, and applications or
other coding are each protected by copyright.
Adding a product description, image, or another element created by
someone else without their permission is usually violates copyright
laws.
B. What is Copyright Infringement in Apps
App piracy is the illegal distribution of apps by someone who is not
the rights holder of the app. In cases of app piracy, pirates often
copy the app code.
They then delete tools like tracking and advertising and publish it
with their own details, particularly monetization information that
enables them to make money off the app.
App piracy violates intellectual property rights, and in terms of
copyrights – it duplicates code, images, sounds, and so on.

7. C. What is Copyright Infringement in NFTs
Like other IP assets, copying, selling or publicly displaying works
without authorization from the owner can constitute copyright
infringement.
For example, creating an NFT video using or showing stock photos
can create IP issues.
NFTs also bring about challenges specific to this new form of work,
such as intellectual property issues concerning their creation,
display, sale and storage.
Although we know IP infringements can arise from NFTs, this is still
new territory in every way, including intellectual property protection.
With time we expect to see how IP claims develop and resolve,
shaping NFT intellectual property.
What is Permitted Use of
Copyrighted Work
Copyrighted works may sometimes be used without creating a
copyright infringement.
The most common exceptions are as follows:
• Licensing – When you follow the terms of a licensing
agreement, you can use copyrighted material. Licensing may
or may not include payment to the copyright holder.
• Fair Use – The Fair Use Doctrine permits the use of
copyrighted work under specific conditions and scope, such as
for educational purposes, for the purpose of reporting, by
using only a limited portion, etc.

8. • Creative Commons – This is a license granted by the
copyright owner to permit the public use of his work under
specific conditions.
• Public Domain – If the copyright holder places his work in the
public domain or in case the copyright is no longer valid, such
as 70 years after the death of the creator of the work.
How to report online copyright
infringements
Reporting copyright infringement should start with collecting
evidence that proves your ownership and a copyright infringement.
Copyright registration is highly beneficial in that sense.
The US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) defines a
procedure for removing online copyright violations without going to
court.
It allows copyright holders to send a takedown notice to the service
providers, such as a web host or search engine like Google,
WordPress, etc.
Many have their own form for submitting the notice, but if they do
not, use copyright.gov to see what needs to be in a takedown
notice.
Although the notice does not mandate a takedown, it holds the
service provider liable if they choose not to take it down. As a result,
they usually comply. If they do not and you have registered your
copyright, you can move on to file a lawsuit.
To take down infringing works you can also contact the infringing
party or the hosting platform.

9. Major platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, have forms you
can fill out. Since you do not want the infringing content appearing
on Google search results, you can report it to Google by filling out
the Google form.
Wiser Online Copyright
Protection
In today’s digital world, IP infringements have become fast and
easy, making intellectual property (IP) protection more crucial than
ever.
Waiting for websites, social media and marketplaces to detect and
take down copyright-infringing content is simply not enough.
The Wiser Market Anti-Piracy Protection Platform helps you
combat copyright infringements with technology that works and a
team of experts that stays on top of the fast-changing digital
landscape.
For continuous scanning and detection, we employ cutting-edge
technology.
Our monitoring system continuously scans digital channels,
detecting relevant references to your brand and analyzing them.

10. To enforce your rights, our team implements unique e-commerce
and brand protection know-how to ensure each infringement is
categorized and removed quickly and efficiently.
Our scalable technology and professional expertise result in
exceptionally high success rates, all with superb customer service.