Copyright Basics - What, When, and For How Long?
Copyright is a form of legal protection that provides authors of original creative works with limited control over the reproduction and distribution of their work. Under the current law, copyright protection is automatic and begins the moment any “original work of authorship is fixed in a tangible medium of expression.
The Copyright Act gives copyright holders a set of exclusive rights to:
- reproduce their work, in whole or in part,
- distribute copies of their work,
- publicly perform their work,
- publicly display their work, and
- prepare derivative works based on the original, such as translations or adaptations.
These exclusive rights, however, are subject to exceptions and limitations, such as fair use, which allow limited uses of copyrighted works without the permission of the copyright holder. Please visit the other sections of this Guide to learn more about fair use and other copyright issues.
What is Protected and Not Protected By Copyright
| Copyrightable Works | Not Copyrightable |
|---|---|
|
Literary works |
Works not fixed in a tangible form (e.g., ideas) |
| Musical works (including accompanying lyrics) | Short phrases, slogans, commercial symbols/colors. (NOTE - these may be protected by other intellectual property laws such as trademark law) |
| Dramatic works | Procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices as distinguished from a description, explanation or illustration. (NOTE - these may be protected by other intellectual property laws such as patent law) |
| Choreographic works and pantomimes (must be fixed in a tangible form, e.g., recorded or notated) | Works consisting entirely of common data or entirely of facts (e.g, calendar, telephone book, weights/measures charts) |
| Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works | Spontaneous speeches that have not been formally fixed into a tangible form |
| Motion pictures and other A/V works | Spontaneous musical or choreograph works |
| Sound recordings | Federal government documents (mostly). Some state government documents (see http://copyright.lib.harvard.edu/states/ for a guide to copyright status of state government documents) |
| Architectural plans | |
| Computer programs |
How Long Does Copyright Protection Last?
Copyright protection does not last forever. For new works created in the United States, protection begins with creation of the work and lasts 70 years after the date of creation. Upon expiration of the term of protection, the work passes into the public domain. For older works created in the United States, passage into the public domain depends on a variety of factors including publication status, recordation of notice, and registration. Further, for foreign copyrighted works, it is possible that works once considered to be in the public domain may have had their copyright protection restored. See Public Domain tab of this Guide for more information on locating items in the public domain.
Resources for Determining Public Domain Status of a Work
- The Cornell Public Domain Chart
- Is it in the Public Domain? Handbook containing helpful flowcharts on evaluating copyright status of works created in the United States.
- UK Crown Copyright Flowchart
- UK Non-Crown Copyright Flowchart
- Out of Copyright Calculators -- public domain calculators for some EU countries
Copyright Webinars from Atla
- Advising Graduate Students on Copyright and Publishing: What to Expect and How to Respond While working on their thesis, dissertation or other terminal projects, graduate students often have questions about incorporating the copyrighted works of others in their papers or experience confusion about their own publication options and their rights as authors. In this workshop, participants will learn how to assist students navigate copyright issues that arise while they are engaged in preparation of their own writing, including when permission is needed and how to distinguish copyright infringement from plagiarism, as well as how to assist them in evaluating places of publication and understanding how deposit of their work in an open repository could impact their future publishing activities.
- Fair Use for Libraries Fair use is a broad and flexible copyright exception that libraries may utilize to support their work and mission. Whether providing materials to students in online courses, creating digital exhibitions of unique and special collections, or facilitating text-based research projects by faculty, fair use enables libraries to make transformative and scholarly uses of copyrighted materials. However, the ongoing litigation between three publishers and Georgia State University as well as the language of the fair use statute itself, have left librarians uncertain about the bounds of what they may do under a claim of fair use.
SCOOP Column from Atla Newsletter
Copyright Resources for Libraries
- CHEER (Copyright Educational Resources for Higher Education) The CHEER repository provides the building blocks that anyone can use to develop copyright education and awareness programming at their institution.
- Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitization for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums (Open Access eBook) This volume addresses the basics of copyright law and the exclusive rights of the copyright owner, the major exemptions used by cultural heritage institutions, and stresses the importance of “risk assessment” when conducting any digitization project.
- Copyright for Educators and Librarians (Coursera MOOC) This course is a professional development opportunity designed to provide a basic introduction to US copyright law and to empower teachers and librarians at all grade levels. Course participants will discover that the law is designed to help educators and librarians.
- CopyTalk Webinars (ALA) CopyTalk is a series of webinars on specific copyright topics that include orphan works, mass digitization, international copyright developments, pending and recent copyright court cases, the copyright implications of new technologies, and more.
- Owning and Using Scholarship: An IP Guide for Teachers and Researchers (Open Access eBook) This volume, authored by Kevin Smith, attempts to demystify intellectual property, and especially copyright law, for academic authors and independent scholars who face these dilemmas. It also can serve as a comprehensive resource for librarians who are asked to assist with these new and challenging decisions.
Attribution
This guide was created by Christine Fruin, Scholarly Communication and Digital Projects Manager at the American Theological Library Association. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
