Copyright Basics

What exactly is copyright? The short answer is, “a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of ‘original works of authorship’. However, this short answer is ultimately insufficient. The reason is that there are many different types of “works” that can be authored, and copyright laws differ in how they apply to each. Literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works are provided for under copyright law, and in this series of articles, we’ll cover each in detail. For now though, we’ll limit our discussion of copyright to cover just those basic matters which extend to all realms of its application.

• Essentially, if one holds a copyright to a work, they have the sole right to:

• Reproduce the work in copies or recorded form,

• To create derivative works such as sequels or spin-offs based upon the work,

• To distribute (sell or give away) copies of the work, or to transfer this right to others,

• To release, display, or perform the work publicly.

This might sound pretty straightforward, but it should be understood that there are quite a few limitations imposed upon copyright law. For instance, there are certain instances in which what might seem like an outright violation of the law in fact counts as a “fair use” exemption. In other cases, the holder of a copyright might be compelled by law to grand limited use licenses to those individuals who are willing to pay them a certain type of fee called a “royalty”.

In addition, there are even limitations upon who can claim the copyright of a work (though generally those who can authoritatively claim authorship are not likely to meet much resistance), and which types of works can be copyrighted. The most stringent limitation on the latter is works that are not “fixed in a tangible form of expression”. This refers to choreographed works like dances that have been neither notated or recorded, or impromptu speeches that haven’t been written down or recorded. Likewise, names, short phrases, slogans and the like cannot be copyrighted, and neither can auxiliary components of a larger work like ideas, procedures or methods (these can, however, fall under patent).

In the US, copyright is generally secured automatically upon the creation of a work. No act of registration is required, contrary to popular belief. As soon as a work is “fixed” to a tangible form for the first time, it is said to be created, and thus the copyright is established. Many think that it is required to affix a copyright symbol to a work in order for it to officially be considered copyrighted, but this is not the case either (although it is often helpful).

One last limitation that’s placed upon copyright is the duration of time for which it applies. This is dependent largely upon the date of creation. For those works created on or after January 1^st, 1978, copyright is established at the moment of creation. Works created before that time required an active registration of some sort in order to be considered copyrighted. Once a work is copyrighted, the copyright generally endures for 70 years past the author’s death, or 120 years from the date of creation for works for which the author is unknown.

Although it is entirely unnecessary to register copyrights, many people do so for the sake of the added security it tends to give in the event of legal troubles. Generally, registration involves sending three things to the US Copyright Office: an application form, a filing fee, and a deposit for the work being registered.

Further information, including fees, deposit rates, and application forms can be found at the Copyright Office’s website at http://www.copyright.gov.