intellectual property and copyright law
For years, individuals have been able to exercise their human right to free speech- the right to express their views and opinions on any given topic, regardless of whether those views are considered offensive or contradictory to others beliefs. As a result, there has been a proliferation of information that has become available to the public eye, and these creations of the mind are available for everyone to discuss, interpret and enjoy.
However, it should be noted that these creations, be they paintings, songs, scientific formulae, inventions, novels, designs, plays, poems, drawings, or simply ideas, are all considered to be intellectual property of the individual or group who created them. In order to protect the moral and economic interests of the creator from theft and abuse of these creations, they are protected under what is known as Copyright Law.
Under the Copyright Law, the use, copy, modification, distribution, performance, or display of an author or creator's work by anyone other than the copyright holder, is strictly forbidden without the explicit permission of the copyright holder, except for when use is considered reasonable, otherwise referred to as fair use.
