DEFINITION OF COPYRIGHT AND COPYLEFT

This blog is dedicated to discuss on computer programs. So far, there are two types of intellectual property hotly debated nowadays concerning copyright. Hence, via this blog my team mates would explain further about the concerned topic. First and foremost before we get too deep into discussion I would like to briefly explain what is copyright and copyleft.


Generally in laymen words a "copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright)". However,since this blog is to further explain about computer law hence we lay down the legal definition for copyright which is defined as the exclusive right given to the owner of a copyright for a specific period. Copyright protection in Malaysia is governed by the Copyright Act 1987. Inaddition to this, there is no clear distinction to what copyright is. Therefore the Act provides the guidelines as to what copyright should be to better serve the understanding of all people." A copyrighted work is a work that is eligible and protected automatically upon fulfillment of the following conditions:- 


       sufficient effort has been expected to make the work original in character;
       the work has been written down, recorded or reduced to a material form; 
       the author is qualified person or the work is made in Malaysia or the workis first published in Malaysia(http://www.myipo.gov.my/en/copyright/general-information.html)." 


Besides copyright, the "concept of copyleft first arose in the Spanish courts in 2005" is used to signify the opposite( http://jiplp.oxfordjournals.org/content/4/11/815.full?keytype=ref&ijkey=rdYNedicc2azPwm). For instance, copyright provides the protection to the programmer to stop other programmers from copying their work. However, it is the exact opposite in the use of copyleft which allows other programmers to have the freedom to improve the software and pass it to other for more improvements and thus the freedom to copy and improve the previous programmer continues( http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/). According to the definition by wikipedia  a "copyleft is a form of licensing and can be used to maintain copyright conditions for works such as computer software, documents and art. In general, copyright law is used by an author to prohibit others from reproducing, adapting, or distributing copies of the author's work. In contrast, under copyleft, an author may give every person who receives a copy of a work permission to reproduce, adapt or distribute it and require that any resulting copies or adaptations are also bound by the same licensing agreement( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyleft)." 


In conclusion, copyright is the first legal standing used to provide protections to the work of the programmer. Short after that the programmers are beginning to think about the new concept of copyleft for the sake of enquiring new improvements in creativity to create a software.hence, copyleft had became a concept right next to copyleft which is still a little vague to be describe but as a whole it is the opposite of copyright with certain limited boundries which still safeguard some limitations to the work ie. software created by the successor and proprietor in the latter.


matrix number: A135603
Faculty of Law, UKM