Talking to our webdesigner in Australia today, and not being a techie, I was astonished to hear him say that the latest computers (laptops in this instance) will no longer have CD/DVD drive, which tells me something. Not really knew i suppose but the days of CD and DVD are rushing to their demise and soon it will (apparently) be only possible to get product from corporate 'libraries'.
A word about Copyright. It is a very complicated world, and although it should be straightforward it simply isn't. For example it is now quite legal for someone to re-record someone else's musical work for example and place copyright on it. What isn't realised is that Copyright can now apply to the technical bits and so deprive the original creator of his or her royalty rights.
Copyright is also NOT the same worldwide and depends largely on where you live. In the UK Copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the Creator, after which works fall into the Public Domain, and probably the most famous case of this was the release of Gilbert & Sullivan works after a fight by the D'oyley Carte Opera Company. Also Copyright in most countries cannot be applied to an idea, but only to a created work. I stand a little on shakey ground here, but I understand that in America music stays in Copyright in perpetuity which is nonsensical.
Most musicians who work on recordings - jobbing musicians usually sign an 'assignment' to the recording company which means they have no rights to anything other than the agreed fee for the job - and nothing more if it goes on to be a major hit for fifty years. The Beatles, George Michael and others have had problems with this over the years.
It can get bizarre as in advertising, unless an assignment is made a Photographer, Model or whoever can claim copyright on their work - which means claim for more money against other uses. So assignments are made as a matter of course. Sometimes this doesn't happen and the BBC has had more than its fair share of clumsy work in this.
Plus who IS the Creator in an association? Problems arise.
Printed works are relatively easy as long as the Author places the Copyright claim on the work and the date - this costs nothing and Copyright is automatic. However if it is NOT claimed then it can be open for plagiarism or worse.
Works such as classic literature pass into the Public Domain after differing periods and in the USA these are registered and listed. However and bizarreky again if someone does a 'live 'reading' of a classic book they can claim copyright on that reading, but not on the origianl work. Thus an 'interpretive' situation is deemed to exist UNLESS an assignment is again made.
The whole business of Copyright gets messy when people say buy an original Van Gogh and believe they then obtain the reproduction rights to it. Not true, ownership of any original artwork gives the owner nothing at all other than the work. However the same thing applies if the death of the creator was (in Britain) more than 70 years prior, and the original is then in the Public Domain and further copyright cannot be claimed.
Very often you will find a Copyright claim to a Published work is known to be in the Public Domain - say Shakespeare for example. In fact the claim again is for the technical side of the production and not the creative side.
Ultimately a Claimant against Breach of Copyright is usually seeking one of two things and possibly both - getting to stop someone using their work and/or obtain compensation for loss of income thus incurred. In both cases this is not easy to do and certainly not easy to prove re. losses made. There are many instances where Courts are not swayed by financial considerations.
Finally and not many people seem to realise this, but in Britain and the USA it is an illegal act (not sure about criminal) to falsely claim copyright, which basically means quite rightly that you need to be very sure you can prove copyright in law - even though in theory it is not necessary. One way is to lodge a copy of your work with the British Library, - in France if a book is printed here two copies are automatically lodged with the National Archives.
I repeat though that the laws are different according to where you live, where the copyright infraction has occurred , and where any legal action would take place. Not easy.
For those concerned with this subject, and it is not one of our books, I strongly recommend getting a copy of the current edition of The Writers & Artists Yearbook. No creative home should be without it!