Sun's Copyright Usage Requirements

About Sun Microsystems

These guidelines are for users outside of Sun or anyone wishing to use or reference Sun's copyrighted material on web sites or in printed material, including in documentation, marketing collateral, etc. ("you"). The following guidelines should serve as your first point of reference when making a permission request to use Sun Copyrighted material. Review the guidelines to determine if your use is permitted. If after you review the guidelines you determine that your use is outside its scope, please complete the Copyright Permission Request Form. Someone within our Intellectual Property Law Group will review the request and follow up with you.

These guidelines are not legal advice. For further information or specific questions regarding a particular use, please consult your own copyright attorney.


Guidelines for Use of Sun Copyright Materials

Box Shots
Sun permits you to copy and use an image from Sun's product boxes or other packaging ("box shot") without our express written permission, if your use meets the following conditions:

  • The use must be for an advertising, educational, tutorial or documentation purpose.
  • The use must not be on packaging or labeling for your own or any third party's software or other commercial product or on promotional materials for any commercial service.
  • The box shot must not be used with other materials that are derogatory, distasteful, obscene, pornographic or critical of Sun or contain content that is libelous, defamatory or disparaging to Sun;
  • The use must not imply Sun's affiliation, endorsement or sponsorship.
  • The use must not be used in any comparative advertising context.
  • Your use of a box shot in advertising must be truthful, accurate and not misleading, and must advertise genuine Sun Product.
  • The use must not be a link to a third party web site other than a Sun-owned web site.
  • Your company name, logo or trademark(s) must appear more prominently and be adequately distinguishable from the box shot.
  • You may re-size box shots. However, Sun does not grant you the right to edit, translate or otherwise modify the box shot.
  • The box shot must be used in its entirety. Using a portion of a box shot is prohibited.
  • You must provide Sun with credit for the box shot by using appropriate copyright and trademark notices.
  • You must use the full name of a Sun product whenever a Sun product is referenced.
  • You must follow Sun's Trademark and Logo Usage Requirements and properly use and attribute any Sun trademark or logo that appears in the box shot.
  • You may not use StarOffice box shots for materials used or distributed in Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan; you should use StarSuite box shots for these markets.

Screen Shots
You are permitted to use a Sun-screen shot without Sun's written permission, if the following conditions are met:

  • The use must be for an advertising, educational, tutorial or documentation purpose.
  • The use must not be on packaging or labeling for your own or any third party's software or other commercial product or on promotional materials for any commercial service.
  • The screen shot must not be used with other materials that are derogatory, distasteful, obscene, pornographic or critical of Sun or contain content that is libelous, defamatory or disparaging to Sun.
  • The use must not imply Sun's affiliation, endorsement or sponsorship.
  • Your use of a screen shot in advertising must be truthful, accurate and not misleading, and must advertise genuine Sun product.
  • You may not use the screen shots in any comparative advertising context.
  • You may resize a screen shot. However, Sun does not grant a user the right to edit, translate or otherwise modify the screen shot.
  • The screen shot must be used in its entirety. Using a portion of a screen shot is prohibited.
  • Do not use screen shots from Sun alpha or beta products or other products not commercially released by Sun unless your license from Sun expressly permits you to do so.
  • Screen shots must not include third-party content. For screen shots or internet pages that contain third party contect, the user must contact and obtain permission directly from the content provider.
  • You must provide Sun with credit for the screen shot by using appropriate copyright notices.
  • You must use the full name of a Sun product whenever a Sun product is referenced.
  • You must abide by Sun's Trademark and Logo Usage Requirements when using any Sun trademark or logo.

Use of Name and/or Likeness of Sun Executives
Please seek written permission from Sun for any use of the image, likeness, voice or any recordings of our executives. You are more than welcome to link to our executive blogs though!

Links to Sun Web Sites
You may create a link from your web page to one of Sun's sun.com web pages provided your site and link meet the following requirements:

  • Your site does not alter the visual presentation or perception of any content on the Sun web page or create a border or frame around the Sun web page;
  • Your site does not falsely imply Sun affiliation, endorsement or sponsorship of your web site, its content, or your products or services;
  • Your site does not contain distasteful, obscene, or pornographic content or any content that is libelous, defamatory or disparaging to Sun;
  • Your site does not misrepresent your relationship with Sun;
  • Your site does not present false or misleading information about Sun; and
  • Your site does not use any Sun logo or trademark without its permission.

Java Related Works
Please review Sun's Documentation Redistribution Policy for information about Java reprint policies. If these sites do not provide your answer, please contact us.

Solaris Manuals and Documentation
Please visit Sun's documentation site before requesting permission, as the solution to your problem may be found there. If that site does not provide the solution for your need, please contact us.

Commercial Licenses of Sun Community Source Licensed Software
Please contact Sales.

Contacting Sun's Copyright Department
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Attn: Copyright Department
10 Network Circle, Bldg. 10
M/P: MPK10-146
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Fax: 650-786-2325
Email

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Overview of Copyright Law

We are providing a general overview of copyright law to help you understand the guiding principles and goals of these requirements. This overview is primarily taken from the US copyright statutes.

What does copyright protect?
Copyright protects both published and unpublished "original works of authorship" fixed in a tangible medium of expression that is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following categories that are construed broadly:

  • literary works;
  • dramatic works;
  • musical works;
  • pantomimes and choreographic works;
  • pictorial, graphic and sculptural works;
  • motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
  • sound recordings; and
  • architectural works.

What are the exclusive rights granted by copyright protection?
A copyright owner has the exclusive right to do and authorize others to:

  • prepare derivative works based upon the work;
  • distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease or lending;
  • perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical and choreographic works, pantomimes and motion picture and other audiovisual works;
  • display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical and choreographic works, pantomimes and motion picture and other audiovisual works; and
  • in the case of sound recordings, perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio.

What is copyright infringement?
Copyright infringement occurs when a user violates the exclusive rights of a copyright owner and uses copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright holder, subject to a few exceptions such as fair use.

How does an owner establish copyright?
Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created in a fixed, tangible medium. At this point, the copyright immediately becomes the author's property. The author does not need to register or publish his work to secure copyright. Two or more authors can be owners of a joint work.

How long does copyright protection lasts?
A work created on or after January 1, 1978 is protected from the moment of its creation and its copyright protection endures for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. For a joint work of two or more authors who did not work for hire, the terms lasts for 70 years plus an additional 70 years after the last surviving author's death. For works made for hire or anonymous works, the term is 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Before January 1, 1978, a copyright was secured on either the date the work was published with a copyright notice or on the date of registration if the work was registered in unpublished form. Protection lasted for 28 years from the date the copyright was secured and was eligible for renewal for 67 years, with a maximum of total protection of 95 years.

What is fair use?
Generally, it is illegal for a user of copyrighted material to violate any of the exclusive rights of a copyright holder. Fair use is a defense to copyright infringement and is an exception to the prohibited uses of copyrighted material. Copying of copyrighted material for a limited or transformative purpose, such as for editorial comment or criticism or to create a parody, may constitute a fair use. Fair use does not require the permission of the copyright owner. Factors that a court will consider in determining whether or not a particular use is fair include: the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole and the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

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