Copyrights and the Internet
Copyright is the protection
of literary, artistic and scientific work,
whatever the mode or form of expression,
disclosure, reproduction, or communication,
and regardless of the genre, merits or intended
use.
In order for a work to be copyrighted, it
has to be in tangible form. This right begins
with the creation of the work and is independent
from the proprietary rights of the physical
medium containing it.
Copyright protection applies to the expression
of a work, but not to the ideas, procedures,
and methods of operation of mathematical
concepts among themselves. In other words,
a copyright protects the manner in which
users see and feel the program—this
is known as the "Look and Feel."
Copyright Law Nº 65-00 protects
the following on the Internet:
- Computer software or programs
(source programs or object programs).
These are not protected by invention patents,
but by copyright laws.
- Any literary or artistic production,
or literary or artistic expression in
the field of science likely to be disclosed,
affixed, or reproduced by means or procedures
now known or later developed.
- Encryption and digital signatures have
been created as a self-protection device,
to provide technological control for copyrighted
literary and artistic works.
- THE PENALTY FOR VIOLATING COPYRIGHTS
ON THE INTERNET is established in Art.
169, numeral 10, where it is stated that
any person who violates the copyright
laws as set forth below shall be condemned
to correctional imprisonment for a period
of three (3) months to three (3) years,
and shall be fined from fifty (50) to
one thousand (1000) minimum wages:
- If he/she suppresses or alters
without authorization any electronic information
regarding the collective management of
those rights sanctioned by Law Nº
65-00, or if he/she distributes, imports
for the purpose of distribution, broadcasts,
communicates or makes available to the
public, without authorization, works,
interceptions or performances or productions,
knowing that the electronic information
about such collective management rights
has been suppressed or altered without
authorization.
- If he/she manufactures, assembles,
imports, modifies, sells or otherwise
circulates any device, system or equipment
capable of avoiding or deactivating another
device intended to prevent or restrict
the copying, interpreting, performing,
producing or broadcasting of the works,
or to lessen the quality of the copies
made; or capable of evading or deactivating
another device intended to prevent or
control the reception of programs transmitted
to the public via wired or wireless telecommunications,
or in any other manner, by those not authorized
for such reception.
- If he/she in any way alters,
eliminates or eludes the devices or technical
media introduced in the protected works,
interpretations, performances, productions
or broadcastings, so as to prevent or
restrict the reproduction or control thereof.
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