Copyright FAQ

What is copyright?
Congress has passed laws and acts that give copyright holders exclusive rights over the reproduction and marketing of their works to the public for specific durations of time.
(Click here for a handy chart on the duration of copyright for published and unpublished works.)

What can be copyrighted?
Any expression that is set in a “fixed tangible medium” is protected by copyright. Examples include:

• a letter home;

• a videotape of a soccer game;

• a Web page created and published on the Internet; even

• drawings or scribbles on a napkin

What cannot be copyrighted?
Copyright does not protect ideas, but it does protect expression.
Example:
A story line, such as “bank heist” cannot be protected by copyright, however the story expressed in an original way (such as the movie, “The Italian Job”) can be protected.

Some works can never be copyrighted; they are in the public domain. (Public domain is information, knowledge, discoveries, and artistic creation never or no longer protected by copyright.)
Click on the link for a chart detailing When U.S. Works Pass Into the Public Domain.
This includes: “any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.” [U.S. Copyright Law §102 (b)]

Works of the U.S. Government produced by government employees are in the public domain. (Note: Private contractors may be hired to create works for the Federal government and the private contractor may retain copyright over the work.) Works created by state governments and their employees may or may not be protected by copyright. Individual state statutes need to be consulted to determine whether a work is in the public domain.

Publication or re-publication of a work in the public domain does NOT violate copyright.

Why bother to register a work with the U.S. Copyright Office?
Copyright pre-registration is required in order to file a copyright infringement suit. If your work is not registered, you cannot sue for copyright infringement. 

Can copyright holders extend copyright after it has expired?
According to Complete Copyright by Carrie Russell (Staff KF 2995 .C57 2004):

“Not anymore. The renewal process ended in 1978. Even then, however, once protection lapsed, the work stayed in the public domain.” (Russell, 15)

How do I go about obtaining permission to use a copyrighted work?
This effort need not be down a long and winding road. Getting Permission provides clear and concise directions for pursuing copyright permission for foreign works, freelance writings, images, music performances, plays, movies, news archives, etc, plus tips on contacting the copyright owner. Baddour Library can assist with this effort through its affiliation with the Copyright Clearance Center.

Back to Copyright, Fair Use, and TEACH

Updated 02/08/2007