copyfraud

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copyfraud

Etymology

A compound of copy +‎ fraud. Coined in an August 2005 article, "Copyfraud" by Jason Mazzone, an Associate Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School.

Noun

copyfraud (uncountable)

(law) False claims of copyright, such as a claim of copyright ownership of public domain material.
- 2006, Mark Jordan, Putting Content Online: A Practical Guide for Libraries‎, →ISBN, pages 47, 48:
  Copyfraud is falsely claiming copyright ownership of works in the public domain. […] Mazzone's article describes copyfraud within the context of US copyright law, but he points out that: ‘As a result of the Berne Convention, there are some basic similarities throughout much of the world.[’]
- 2008 January 25, Rod Pemberton, “Re: modernization of FORTH, Age Results”, in comp.lang.forth‎ (Usenet):
  The GPL and GPL FAQ don't say that applying a copyright and license (GPL) to Public Domain works after a trivial modification is copyfraud either, but it is.
- 2008, Eva Hemmungs Wirtén, “‘I am Two Mowglis’: Kipling, Disney, and a Lesson in How to Use (and Abuse) the Public Domain”, in Terms of Use: Negotiating the Jungle of the Intellectual Commons‎, →ISBN, page 105:
  Made possible because people trust in the veracity of something that at times is nothing more than a chimera, copyfraud is a particularly acute problem when exacerbated by public institutions like museums.

Usage notes

False claims do not need to be fraudulent or made in bad faith to qualify as copyfraud.