Copyright

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A. Copyright is…

Authors of creative works receive an automatic protection, called copyright, that grants them control over the reproduction, performance, adaptation and distribution of their works. Copyright protection is defined under Title 17 of the United States Code.

Copyright protects books, texts, maps, charts, prints, drawings, advertisements, scripts, characters, sculptures, photographs, musical compositions, sound recordings, movies, videos, and software. Basically, most types of creative expression are covered by copyright, as long as they are captured in some tangible form (e.g., mp3 file, photograph, painting).

The purpose of copyright is to promote the production of creative works. To achieve this, copyright protection assures authors the exclusive control over their original expressions. These exclusive rights allow an artist to sell his works, or sell the rights to use the work, commercially. At the same time, others may freely utilize the facts and ideas contained in a copyrighted work without infringing upon the author’s rights. In certain cases, the law permits use of the copyrighted material, itself, through the Fair Use doctrine.

To understand how you can legally use the copyrighted works of others, visit the Fair Use section of the Legal Definitions.

B. Copyright is not…

Copyright does not protect a creative work forever. Currently, a copyright term lasts the life of the author plus 70 years (or, for corporate works, 95 years from the date of publication). When copyright law began in 1790, a copyright term lasted 14 years with an option to renew for another 14 if the author lived.

While copyright covers many forms of expression, it does not protect:

  1. Ideas
  	*Example: “I think I’ll write a love story set on Mars!”

  2. Facts
  	*Example: “The earth is round”

  3. Raw information or data
  	*Example: Telephone numbers 

  4. US Government Works
        *Example: Speeches, photos, or records made by US government staff

When a piece of work or an idea does not qualify for copyright, protection, it is said to belong to the public domain.

C. How copyright works…

Copyright protection automatically attaches to a creative work, provided that it meets certain criteria. To qualify for copyright protection, a work must be:

• 1. Fixed in a tangible medium of expression (such as clay, paper, digital footage, etc.); and
• 2. Original (providing a unique perspective or presentation).

If your work meets the above qualifications, it is automatically protected by copyright. You do NOT have to register it with the US government or put a symbol on it for it to receive copyright protection.

Timeline

• History of inventions and copyright protections
• History of the expansion of the copyright term

Mixed Media

US Copyright Site