Copyright is a type of protection given to an “original work of authorship” (Title 17, United States Code). The purpose of copyright is meant to promote the arts and sciences while still providing incentive for creators. The roots of copyright law started in Britain in 1710 with The Statute of Annae, which helped out authors who were being exploited by publishers, who were reprinting works and not giving a penny of the profits to the authors. Copyright law originally just encompassed printed works, but now copyright is involved in almost every aspect of life, from movies and music to databases and blogs. If you've every drawn a picture, written a poem, filmed yourself dancing, you are a copyright owner!
It used to be that you had to file for copyright, but now, copyright is awarded to any original work in fixed medium, regardless of whether it is published or not. You no longer need to file for copyright; it is automatically granted once you create something in a tangible (or fixed) format. So while an idea is not copyrightable, a drawing or poem (even if scribbled on a napkin) is.
United States copyright protection is currently set at the life of the author plus 70 years for works created since 1978, while works created before 1978 have different copyright duration rules.
For 2022: Works published prior to 1926 are now in the Public Domain, meaning that anyone is available to use, build on, or alter these works in any way without first obtaining copyright permission. In the U.S., work by people who died in 1951 are in the Public Domain.
When works pass out of copyright protection, they enter the Public Domain. This essentially means that they are owned by the public and that people can do whatever they want with them, including creating derivative works. This is how books like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies can exist without the new creator being sued. Every year that passes, new materials are supposed to enter the public domain, but this act froze it so that no new materials could enter the public domain until 2019. This is commonly referred to as The Mickey Mouse Protection Act because Mickey Mouse was just about due to enter the public domain when this Act was passed, keeping Disney’s rights to Mickey safe and secure.
The Statute of Annae in 1710 gave authors rights for 14 years. Between 1790-1962, there wasn’t much of an increase in the length of copyright terms, but since 1976, modern the duration for U.S. Copyright Law has nearly doubled. The Sony Bono Copyright Extension Act of 1998 froze the Public Domain for 20 years.
Fair Use is an exception to copyright. Fair Use is often used in educational contexts "such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.” Copyright law is not supposed to stifle creativity, so this is where Fair Use comes into play. Fair Use makes exceptions for teachers using copyrighted materials in their classrooms, but could also include people remixing videos for satirical purposes, or the use of copyrighted materials to provide social commentary.
If you are confused as to whether the work you want to use falls under Fair Use, you can conduct a Fair Use analysis.There are four aspects to look at when conducting a Fair Use analysis:
A Fair Use Analysis is not the law, but a guide. Each of these four aspects must be taken into account in conducting a Fair Use Analysis. If you do an analysis that comes out in your favor, it does not mean that you are exempt or that you are not infringing on copyright law – rather, it just means that there is a good chance that you might not be infringing. If you have doubts, you should always seek permission from the original copyright owner.
Stanford has an excellent Copyright & Fair Use site.
Columbia University's Fair Use Checklist is helpful for those looking to conduct a Fair Use Analysis.
Harvard has helpful informational graphics on Fair Use.
The Exclusive rights in copyright works are laid out in Title 17 U.S. Code § 106, sections 107-122.
All copyright owners automatically receive the following rights:
Only the copyright holder has the power over these rights.
Certain types of works cannot by copyrighted, such as:
It is important to keep in mind that although facts (including recipes and formulas) cannot be copyrighted, the arrangement of these facts can.
Certain uncopyrightable works can be covered by other forms of law.
If you have not secured permission to use a copyrighted work, then follow the following tips to follow Fair Use Guidelines:
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