Protecting Business Innovations via Copyright (Coursera)

Protecting Business Innovations via Copyright (Coursera)

Intellectual property rights (IPR) has a great impact on innovation development and society. In Science, Engineering, and Business, we seek to create wealth through innovation in products, designs, manufacturing processes, and business systems or models. However, innovation leaders often FAIL to benefit from their discoveries and inventions when they are unable to adequately protect those innovations. Learn the basics of copyright, copyright infringement, derivative works/parody and copyright related to software. This course provides learners with an understanding of Copyright law and how it can be used to protect business innovation.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

This course provides learners with an understanding of Copyright law and how it can be used to protect business innovation. The course focus is on protecting innovations with copyright as one of several tools that can be used by companies and individuals to protect creative innovations. In additional to learning about how copyright works in theory, we will also discuss situations in which copyright might not be effective in protecting innovations, and will focus on the legal issues involved from a practical business perspective rather than from a purely legal viewpoint. This course is one part of a four course series focusing on protection of business innovations using copyright, patent, trademark and strategy, and these four courses may be taken in any order that is most beneficial to students interested in learning about protecting innovation.

Other courses in the Protecting Business Innovations series:

  1. Copyright: Protecting Business Innovations via Copyright
  2. Trademark: Protecting Business Innovations via Trademark
  3. Patent: Protecting Business Innovations via Patent
  4. Strategy: Protecting Business Innovations via Strategy

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Introduction to Copyright
Welcome to this course on Protecting Business Innovations via Copyright! How do companies protect their intellectual property, creative innovations and ensure they keep their customers happy? Over the next four weeks you will gain insight on how companies navigate the world of Copyright, Copyright limitations, Derivative work and Software Protection. As you go through the materials, you may have your own copyright related questions or scenarios that pop-up, feel free to post them in the discussion forum so we can try to apply strategic approaches learned in the course. Take some time to review the assignments, grading and general course guidelines for this course. Week 1 will cover the basics of copyright and will introduce the general terms that will be used in later weeks.

WEEK 2
Copyright Limitations
Fair use is the largest area of exceptions of copyright. It is not a right, it is a defense. This week will cover the rules of fair use, how companies apply it, fair use limitations and will introduce more copyright limitations you should be aware of.

WEEK 3
Derivative Work & Parody
This will explore other rights within Copyright Law. I will introduce derivative works and parody with lots of interesting examples like the Beach Boys, Weird Al and Annoying Orange. We encourage you to interact with the examples by going to YouTube or other suggested sites to view them as you go through the lecture videos.

WEEK 4
Protecting Software Innovations
Software innovations is a special area of Copyright. This will week cover how companies protect software innovations with case studies like video games and Virtual Reality software. It will also cover the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which is a US Law but how it can affect companies around the world. Find out how companies navigate the interesting world of software and DMCA.

WEEK 5
Final Exam
You've reached the final exam week! Complete the final exam and post-course survey. Your feedback can help us improve future iterations of the course. Good luck on the exam and hope to see you in ALL our upcoming courses for Protecting Business Innovations via: Copyright, Patent, Trademark and Strategy

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Doing Business in Europe (Coursera) Coursera
ESCP Europe

Doing Business in Europe (Coursera)

Europe is a major world trade partner as well as a place where to acquire significant business experience. This is the reason why this MOOC has been designed with the view to explaining and guiding you in doing business in Europe. Do you really know Europe? How should you consider and approach the European continent? What business lessons can be drawn in a European perspective?

Oct 19th 2026
5-12 Weeks
European Business Law: Understanding the Fundamentals (Coursera) Coursera
Lund University

European Business Law: Understanding the Fundamentals (Coursera)

The European Union is one of the world’s largest and most important economies. This five week course is the first in a series of three that will provide students with an insight into European Business Law. The series ranges from considering the basic structures and principles of the European Union to focusing on various specialized areas of law. Each course will give the students an understanding of the laws and policies that regulate the internal market of European Union, as well as relevant case law and useful inputs from leading practitioners in the field.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Les bases de la stratégie d’entreprise (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Les bases de la stratégie d’entreprise (Coursera)

Développez vos capacités à réfléchir de manière stratégique, à analyser l’environnement concurrentiel et à recommander un positionnement ferme et la création de valeur. Ce cours a été élaboré par la Darden School of Business de l’Université de Virginia. Des professeurs de renom vous aideront à explorer la théorie sous-jacente et les cadres qui vous donneront les bases d’une stratégie d’entreprise efficace et ils vous donneront les outils dont vous avez besoin pour comprendre la stratégie : Analyses SWAT, concurrentielles, environnementales, des cinq forces de Porter et des capacités, ainsi que des cartes stratégiques.

Oct 12th 2026
4 Weeks
Electric Utilities Fundamentals and Future (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado System

Electric Utilities Fundamentals and Future (Coursera)

The approach of this course is truly unique in how it approaches and engages learners. It looks at the electric utility industry, which has remained critical to our quality of life, health and comfort from the eyes of numerous industry experts through on-location interviews, compelling visuals, and animation. You will benefit from having the inside track because you see some behind-the-scenes information not covered in news stories, social media or even if we are in the business ourselves.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Innovar (Coursera) Coursera
Arizona State University

Innovar (Coursera)

La innovación ha cobrado una importancia significativa en las corporaciones de hoy, y con frecuencia es vista como un motor importante de crecimiento y éxito en una organización. En este curso introductorio, usted aprenderá sobre el significado, la importancia, el proceso e impacto de la innovación.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Sustainable Fashion (Coursera) Coursera
Copenhagen Business School

Sustainable Fashion (Coursera)

Sometimes when we say we work with sustainable fashion people look at us like... "Mmmm, is it really possible for something like fashion to be sustainable?" And let's face it, people are right being suspicious. If anything the fashion industry has become increasingly unsustainable over the last decades, using more and more natural resources and creating more and more waste.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks
European Business Law: Competing in Europe (Coursera) Coursera
Lund University

European Business Law: Competing in Europe (Coursera)

This six-week course titled Competing in Europe is the third in a series of three exploring some of the main business aspects of European Union law. Besides providing learners with a sound knowledge base of European laws and regulations, the series explores business considerations within a broader perspective by including inputs from leading law practitioners in the field. More specifically, the third course discusses how to compete on the internal market and protect your brand, product or invention.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Climate Change Mitigation in Developing Countries (Coursera) Coursera
University of Cape Town

Climate Change Mitigation in Developing Countries (Coursera)

This course challenges you to consider how one might lift societies out of poverty while also mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. We explore the inherent complexity of developing country governments wanting to grow their economies in a climate friendly way. You will be introduced to an approach with which to address this challenge. The approach consists of a facilitated process whereby academic researchers and high-level influential actors within society co-produce knowledge. You will track this process in four Latin American countries - Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and South Africa. You will hear from various professionals about their contexts and the different challenges and opportunities the process includes.

Oct 19th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Copyright for Multimedia (Coursera) Coursera
Duke University,Emory University,University of North Carolina

Copyright for Multimedia (Coursera)

Copyright questions about different formats (data, images, music and video) can be especially difficult. Sometimes the law specifically distinguishes between these different formats, and in most cases there are media-specific considerations that impact a copyright analysis. In this course we will look at four different media, paying special attention to the unique issues for each one and the kinds of information that is important when making copyright decisions for each type of material.

Oct 12th 2026
4 Weeks
Legal Tech & Startups (Coursera) Coursera
IE Business School

Legal Tech & Startups (Coursera)

LegalTech is the reaction to the disruption that technology is having across all sectors of the economy. Considering that the legal sector is one of the most resistant to change, due to its conservative nature, we can see just how different the future will be. In this course, IE professor Marti Manent will guide you through the essential stages of this disruption in technology, giving you the key tools and ideas to consider when starting your online business.

Oct 5th 2026
4 Weeks
Becoming a changemaker: Introduction to Social Innovation (Coursera) Coursera
University of Cape Town

Becoming a changemaker: Introduction to Social Innovation (Coursera)

This free 6 week course is for anyone who wants to make a difference. Whether you are already familiar with the field of social innovation or social entrepreneurship, working for an organization that wants to increase its social impact, or just starting out, this course will take you on a journey of exploring the complex problems that surround us and how to start thinking about solutions.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks