Intellectual property

In the year 567 the monk Finnian accused another monk, Columba, for without permission to have copied a hymn book he had made. The dispute was brought before King Diarmait who pronounced a sentence in the form of the statement: “To every cow her calf, and consequently to every book its copy”. This is probably the first certain evidence we have in Europe on copyright and copyright issues.

You can read more about the history and the "awkward" copyright here. (It is in Norwegian).

In the same way as with the monk Finnian we also have a right to protection against others using our texts, photos, music, sayings, etc. In addition to national legislation in this area, there are also international laws. Norway is party to the Berne Convention, and must follow a rising number of EU directives in the area. In addition we have the WIPO Treaty and the TRIPS Agreement. These international agreements and our commitments to them, means that we are obliged to give foreign authors the same protection we give our own national authors - and vice versa.

Today it is not so easy to know what to disclose. Many people think that as long it is published on the Internet it is OK to use it. But there is something called intellectual property and we all have to respect it. Today we talk most about sharing movies and music on the Internet. Some post movies and music so that others can download it on their own PC. But even a picture on Facebook or a blog that another individual has taken and shared with us is intellectual property and can`t be used by us without permission from that person.

To protect against someone else using your intellectual property can be made in four different ways, depending on what you want to protect:

1. Patent
2. Trademark
3. Copyright
4. Trade Secret

If you are an intellectual property owner, you should protect your rights. If you are a user, you should respect them. It is just as wrong to steal intellectual property as it is to break into a home, steal a car, or rob a bank.

Please, don`t take this serious: