Copyright: About copyright

This guide helps you to find available information resources on topics of copyright. Use the tabs to navigate between pages.

The guide has been made by LUT Academic Library. The instructions are recommendations and good practices, not legal advice.

According to effective copyright laws in Finland, the copyright belongs to the author (Copyright Act 8.7.1961/404). This is the case even if the author worked for an institution, such as a university, when the article was written; and no other agreement was made. If the work, for example an article or publication, has several authors, the copyright belongs to all of them.

What is original work, how about composite works? Learn more about these and other key copyright terms:

Contact information:

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E-mail: library@lut.fi

• Copyright refers to the protection given to a piece of work, i.e. author’s exclusive rights. They consist of economic and moral rights. Copyright protects the work, not the information or ideas contained in.

• The author is a natural person who has done the work and owns the exclusive rights of the work. There can be several authors and they own rights to their own parts. If a work has two or more authors whose contributions do not constitute independent works, the copyright shall belong to the authors jointly. The author can, to a certain extent, transfer his or her rights to another party.

• The work is a sufficiently creative literary or artistic work, for example article, book, musical composition or painting. Whether a piece of work can be regarded as an independent piece of work and thus reach copyright protection, depends on the originality of the work.

• Copy of a work means the single copy of the work. With regard to online works the difference between the work and the copy of the work is somewhat vague.

References:
Finnish Copyright Act https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/1961/19610404
Toikkanen, Tarmo & Oksanen, Ville (2011). Opettajan tekijänoikeusopas. Helsinki: Finn Lectura

• Economic rights provide the author with the exclusive right to control a work by reproducing it and by making it available to the public.

• Moral rights. When copies of a work are made or when the work is made available to the public, the name of the author shall be stated in a manner required by proper usage. A work may not be altered in a manner which is prejudicial to the author’s literary or artistic reputation, nor may it be made available to the public in such a form or context as to be prejudice the author in the manner stated.

• Related rights are exclusive rights, which are similar to copyright. Related rights are given for example to presentations, photos, audio and video recordings, databases and catalogues. Related rights are granted only on the basis of the work that has been done.

• Making public and publishing. A work shall be considered to have been public when it has lawfully been made available to the public. A work shall be regarded as published when copies thereof have, with the consent of the author, been placed on sale or otherwise distributed to the public.

• With the licence the author gives licence to the work for designated bodies.

• Intellectual property rights are divided into copyright and industrial property rights. Industrial property rights are for example patents, protection of designs and trademark. Industrial property rights will come into force only by registering. Copyright protects the work immediately, without registration.

References:
Finnish Copyright Act https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/1961/19610404
Toikkanen, Tarmo & Oksanen, Ville (2011). Opettajan tekijänoikeusopas. Helsinki: Finn Lectura

• Copyright belongs to the author and his heirs 70 years after his/her death. The author can hand over part of the financial rights for example to publisher to manage for the duration of copyright. All moral rights may not be transferred, even if the financial rights are ceded.

• The producer of audio and video recordings has related rights. Their duration is 50 years from the completion of the recording and 50 years after its release.

• The related rights of a photo are valid 50 years after it was taken.

References:
Finnish Copyright Act https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/1961/19610404
Toikkanen, Tarmo & Oksanen, Ville (2011). Opettajan tekijänoikeusopas. Helsinki: Finn Lectura