Generally, the use of a copyrighted work, including reproduction, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. However, there are specific tests which must be met for a use to be recognized as a Fair Use, and this topic has been the subject of significant litigation in recent years. 5.3 Ownership Owning a copyrighted item does not give the possessor the copyright. The law provides that transfer of ownership of any material object that embodies a copyrighted work does not of itself convey any rights in the copyright. Oftentimes, the copyright holder reserves all rights of ownership, and only provides specifically delineated usage rights through the license.
Similar protections apply to Patents and Trademarks.
5.4 Strict Liability Copyright infringement is a violation of both civil and criminal law. Infringement is not mitigated by a claim of ignorance. 5.5 Exceptions Congress amended the Copyright Act in 1980 to allow the owner of a copyrighted computer program to make a single copy of that item so it could be loaded and run on a computer. Congress also provided for backup or archival copies of software. The owner of a copyright may provide for more liberal uses through the license agreement.