CPW Writing Ethics and Copyright 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a website's 'safe harbor' provision protects the platform from liability when it:
- Monitors all user uploads before posting
- Promptly removes infringing content upon proper notice (Correct answer)
- Only hosts government-created content
- Requires all users to register copyrights
Correct answer: Promptly removes infringing content upon proper notice
DMCA safe harbor shields platforms from copyright liability if they have a notice-and-takedown policy and act expeditiously upon receiving valid notices.
Question 2: A grant writer discovers that a colleague submitted fabricated data in a federal grant application. The ethical obligation is to:
- Ignore it to protect the organization's funding
- Report the misconduct through appropriate institutional channels (Correct answer)
- Quietly correct the data without reporting
- Ask the colleague to withdraw the application
Correct answer: Report the misconduct through appropriate institutional channels
Research and grant fraud is illegal and unethical; professional duty requires reporting through proper channels, which may include federal oversight agencies.
Question 3: A copyright holder sends a cease-and-desist letter to a blogger. The blogger believes their use is fair use. What is the safest first step?
- Ignore the letter since fair use is a complete defense
- Remove the content immediately without evaluating the claim
- Consult an intellectual property attorney before responding (Correct answer)
- File a countersuit immediately
Correct answer: Consult an intellectual property attorney before responding
Fair use is an affirmative defense determined case-by-case, so consulting an IP attorney before responding protects the blogger's legal position.
Question 4: Which best describes 'copyright assignment' versus 'copyright licensing'?
- Assignment transfers ownership; licensing grants permission while ownership is retained (Correct answer)
- Licensing transfers ownership; assignment grants temporary permission
- Both permanently transfer all rights to a third party
- Assignment applies only to unpublished works
Correct answer: Assignment transfers ownership; licensing grants permission while ownership is retained
An assignment transfers copyright ownership entirely, while a license grants specified usage rights without the licensor giving up ownership.
Question 5: A copywriter is hired to write promotional content and knowingly makes false claims about a competitor's product. Beyond copyright issues, this creates exposure for:
- Patent infringement
- Trade secret theft
- Defamation and false advertising claims (Correct answer)
- Trademark dilution only
Correct answer: Defamation and false advertising claims
False statements of fact about a competitor's products can constitute both commercial defamation (trade libel) and violations of FTC false advertising rules.
Question 6: The 'idea-expression dichotomy' in copyright law means that:
- Both ideas and their expression are equally protected
- Ideas are protected but expression is not
- Expression is protected, but the underlying idea is not (Correct answer)
- Only ideas that are registered can be protected
Correct answer: Expression is protected, but the underlying idea is not
Copyright protects the specific creative expression of an idea, not the idea itself, allowing others to write about the same subject in their own words.
Question 7: A professional writer editing a historical biography changes quotations to make the subject appear more eloquent. This violates:
- The work-for-hire doctrine
- Accuracy and fidelity to the historical record (Correct answer)
- The first-sale doctrine
- Non-disclosure obligations
Correct answer: Accuracy and fidelity to the historical record
Altering historical quotations misrepresents the historical record and the subject's actual words, violating the writer's core duty of accuracy.
CPW Writing Ethics and Copyright 5
Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a website's 'safe harbor' provision protects the platform from liability when it: