Copyright

Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression. In copyright law, there are a lot of different types of works, including paintings, photographs, illustrations, musical compositions, sound recordings, computer programs, books, poems, blog posts, movies, architectural works, plays, and so much more!

Why Was Copyright Created?

To encourage the sharing of works by protecting the rights of the creator.

Who Can be a Copyright Owner?

Everyone! Once you create an original work and fix it, like taking a photograph, writing a poem or blog, or recording a new song, you are the author and the owner. Even without filing a patent, you are the copyright owner.

What is Protected by Copyright?

The work or subject matter must fall within a category of material protected by the Copyright Act​​​​​​. These categories are:

• Literary Works
• Musical works, including any accompanying words
• Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
• Pantomimes and choreographic works
• Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
• Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
• Sound recordings
• Architectural works
• A work does not have to be published in order to gain copyright protection

What is Not Protected by Copyright?

• Titles, names, slogans
• Ideas, procedures, methods, principles, concepts, systems
• Works lacking originality (calendars, tape measures, rules, etc.)
• Works created by employees of the U.S. Government in the course of their employment
• Works comprised entirely of public domain information

As the copyright Owner, you have the exclusive rights to:  

• Reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords (which includes digitizing the work)
• Distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer or ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending (which includes making a copy of the work available online)
• For literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, to display the copyrighted work publicly (which includes displaying the work on a computer screen)

When Does Infringement Occur?

When someone who is not the copyright owner performs any of the exclusive acts (or authorizes or enables someone else to perform one of these acts) without permission of the copyright owner.

The Public Domain Consists of works no longer protected by copyright and can be used freely by the public. This means that the copyright right protection has either expired, been forfeited by the author, or are inapplicable.

Is Open Access the Same as Public Domain?

No. Just because a copyright owner has made the decision for their work to be Open Access does not mean it is public domain. It is best to follow copyright fair use guidelines when it comes to Open Access work.