What is Copyright?
"The exclusive right given by law for a certain term of years to an author, composer, designer, etc. (or his assignee), to print, publish, and sell copies of his original work."
--From the Oxford English Dictionary
Interactive Tools
Copyright Quizzes - Quizzes on film, video, multimedia, online courses, books and journals from Washburn University.
Copyright in the News
Loading...
Copyright Law Basics
Copyright law, as defined in Title 17 of the United States Code, protects "original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression" for a limited period. Copyright protection includes, for instance, the legal right to publish and sell literary, artistic, or musical work, and copyright protects authors, publishers and producers, and the public. Copyright applies both to traditional media (books, records, etc.) and to digital media (electronic journals, web sites, etc.). Copyright protects the following eight categories of works:
- literary works
- musical works
- dramatic works
- pantomimes and choreographic works
- pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
- motion pictures and other audiovisual works
- sound recordings
- architectural works
The law protects all works of these types created in the U.S., whether published, unpublished, or out of print.
Facts, ideas, procedures, processes, systems, concepts, principles or discoveries cannot be copyrighted. However, some of these can be protected by patent or trade secret laws.
Additions to Copyright Law
Berne
Convention,
the International Copyright Treaty, which the US signed
on to in 1989.
Digital
Millenium Copyright Act -
A large PDF with the actual text of the act. This copy
is provided by the Library
of Congress Copyright Office.
Subject Guide |
 Veronica A. Wells      Links: Profile & Guides |
Loading...
