To
publish is to make
content publicly known. The term is
most frequently applied to the distribution of text or images on
paper, or to the placing of content on a
website.
The word
publication means the act of
publishing, and it also means any writing
of which copies are published, and any website. Among
publications are
books, and
periodicals, the latter including
magazines,
scholarly
journals, and
newspapers.
Legal definition and copyright
"Publication" is a
technical term in
legal contexts and especially important in
copyright legislation. An author of a work
generally is the initial owner of the
copyright on the work. One of the copyrights
granted to the author of a work is the exclusive right to publish
the work.
In the
United
States
, publication is defined as:
- the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the
public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease,
or lending. The offering to distribute copies or
phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further
distribution, public performance, or public display, constitutes
publication. A public performance or display of a work
does not of itself constitute publication.
- To perform or display a work "publicly" means –
- :(1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public
or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a
normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered;
or
- :(2) to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or
display of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to the
public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of
the public capable of receiving the performance or display receive
it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or
at different times.
- —17
USC 101
Furthermore, the right to publish a work is an exclusive right of
the copyright owner (
17
USC 106), and violating this right (e.g. by disseminating
copies of the work without the copyright owner's consent) is a
copyright infringement
(
17
USC 501), and the copyright owner can demand (by suing in
court) that e.g. copies distributed against his will be confiscated
and destroyed (
17
USC 502, 17 USC 503).
The definition of "publication" as "distribution of copies to the
general public with the consent of the author" is also supported by
the
Berne Convention, which makes mention of "copies" in article
3(3), where "published works" are defined. In the
Universal Copyright
Convention, "publication" is defined in article VI as "the
reproduction in tangible form and the general distribution to the
public of copies of a work from which it can be read or otherwise
visually perceived." Many countries around the world follow this
definition, although some make some exceptions for particular kinds
of works. In Germany, §6 of the
Urheberrechtsgesetz
additionally considers works of the visual arts (such as
sculptures) "published" if they have been made permanently
accessible by the general public (i.e., erecting a sculpture on
public grounds is publication in Germany). Australia and the UK (as
the U.S.) do not have this exception and generally require the
distribution of copies necessary for publication. In the case of
sculptures, the copies must be even three-dimensional."uk">
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48),
section 175,
Copyright law of the United
Kingdom. URL last accessed
2007-05-29.
Biological classification
In
biological
classification (
taxonomy), the
publication of the description of a
taxon has to comply with some rules.
- It must be published in Latin.
- It must be published on paper.
- The publication must be generally available.
- The date of publication is the date the published material
became generally available.
See also
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