• This article is meant to be used for information only.
• This article does not constitute legal advice.
• This article is not comprehensive.

Copyright is:

"The legal right to exclusive publication, production, sale, or distribution of a literary, musical, or artistic work" (The American Heritage College Dictionary, 3rd ed.)

A notice of copyright contains three elements:

• The copyright symbol © or the word Copyright or the abbreviation Copr.
• The year of first publication
• The name of the holder of the copyright

© 2001 Agatha Taormina

Copyright 2001 Agatha Taormina

Copr. 2001 Agatha Taormina

Copyright is governed by the following key pieces of federal legislation:

• Copyright Act of 1976
  • Moral Rights component added in 1990
• Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 1998

These laws specify what sorts of material can and cannot be copyrighted.

Essentially, copyrightable material includes original works of authorship fixed in tangible form

Examples of material subject to copyright:

• books, manuals, poems, plays, tests
• musical scores
• choreography
• sound and video recordings
• film
• artwork, including drawing, painting, sculpture, photographs
• computer software
• web sites

Certain kinds of materials cannot be copyrighted. Such exclusions to copyright include:

• facts
• ideas
• procedures
• concepts

However, the arrangement or description of facts, ideas, and concepts can be copyrighted.

Thus a calendar per se cannot be copyrighted, but a calendar with photos of Playboy bunnies or rock stars can be copyrighted.

Works in the public domain are free for all uses. Works in the public domain include:

• most, but not all, government documents
• works published before 1923

The holder of a copyright has the exclusive rights to:

• reproduce the work
• distribute the work
• market the work
• make derivative works (such as a screenplay based on a novel)

The holder of a copyright also has:

• the right of public display
• the right of public performance

For works created after January 1, 1973:

• individual copyright can be held for the life of the holder plus 70 years
• corporate copyright can be held for the shorter of the two following lengths of time
  • 95 years from publication
  • 120 years from creation

For unpublished works created before 1978 copyright can be held for the later of the following two dates:

• 70 years after the death of the author
• December 31, 2002

The copyright law does allow for reasonable use of copyrighted materials, provided the use meets a four factor test:

Purpose and Character of Use: uses for non-profit and educational purposes are most likely to meet this test

Nature of the copyrighted work: in general it is easier to argue fair use for fact than for fiction

The amount and substantiality of the copying: in general short excerpts used for the purposes of review are considered fair use

The effect of the use on the market value of the work

You may not apply fair use guidelines to:

• Copying to substitute for purchase of textbooks or anthologies
• Copying of consumable material such as worksheets and standardized tests

Be especially careful if you want to use the following sorts of materials:

• slides
• videos
• software
• reserve materials

You may use slides and photographs you purchase or take yourself.

You may not change the format of the slide (for example, you may not transfer a slide to a CD-ROM)

In general you are prohibited from using copies of photographs or graphics from books and magazines

• The object in the photography (for example, a piece of art) could be copyrighted
• The photo itself could be copyrighted
• The book or magazine itself could be copyrighted

You may record videos for time shifting (watching a television program at a time other than its original broadcast).

However, legally you may view these once and then must erase them.

All material on web sites is presumed to be copyrighted.

You may not borrow material or a graphic without the permission of the creator of the web site.

If you link to a web site, include the name of the site on your own web page.

Put your own copyright notice on your web pages

Software is generally licensed rather than copyrighted and the doctrine of fair use does not apply.

Licensing agreements may vary widely.

However, in general, the purchaser of a software license may make a backup or archival copy of the program.

Guidelines of the American Library Association state that a library may photocopy and place on reserve excerpts from copyrighted works in their collection within the guidelines for face-to-face teaching.

A library functions as an extension of the classroom or reflects a student's right to photocopy for personal use.

For more information, check the following web sites:

The U.S. Copyright Office

The World Intellectual Property Organization

The Conference on Fair Use sponsored by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The Copyright Crash Course from the University of Texas