Author Copyright & Intellectual Property
| Overview | Managing Your Copyright | Further Resources |
Copyright is a bundle of rights provided by law to protect authors from unfair use of their original works. Although it applies to both published and unpublished works, it requires that the work exist in some physical form that can be understood directly or with the aid of a machine. (See the U.S. Copyright Office for more information.)
Copyright exists as soon as the author/creator converts the work into “tangible form, by writing or typing it for example. There is no need to register the work with the Copyright Office, although an author must have registered the work before the first infringement to be eligible to file a suit in court."
For information about managing your copyrights see: http://www.lib.umd.edu/CLMD/INSTREP/managing.html.
What Types of Works are Protected?
Copyright applies to a wide variety of works including, but not limited to:
- Literary works
- Musical works
- Dramatic works
- Choreographic works
- Architectural works, etc.
Items not protected include, but are not limited to:
- titles, names, slogans
- ideas, procedures, methods, concepts
- works comprised entirely of public domain information
How Long does Copyright Apply?
Duration of copyright varies greatly depending on a number of factors. Generally,
anything published/created on or after January 1, 1978 is protected for the life
of the author plus 70 years. See the public domain table created by Peter Hirtle for more information
about the length of copyright.
Copyright is not absolute, though, and if an author gives away his or her rights
(to a publisher, for example), then the length of copyright protection ends as soon
as the rights are transferred.
Fair use is an exemption provided by law to allow certain uses of copyrighted
materials without needing to seek permission of the author. It plays a large role
in academia, establishing guidelines for classroom usage and course reserves.
The University of Minnesota's Copyright Information and Education Intitiative
provides an excellent site with detailed information regarding fair use, including
an interactive web tool and worksheet to help complete a fair use analysis. Visit
the site at: University of Minnesota (Duluth) Copyright Information.
