Copyright Information & Guidelines: Copyright

Examples of copyrightable works include:

• 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, which are works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds
• Architectural works

In general, for works created on or after January 1, 1978, the term of copyright is the life of the author plus 70 years after the author’s death.

If the work is a joint work with multiple authors, the term lasts for 70 years after the last surviving author’s death. For works made for hire and anonymous or pseudonymous works, the duration of copyright is 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.

For works created before January 1, 1978, that were not published or registered as of that date, the term of copyright is generally the same as for works created on or after January 1, 1978. The law, however, provides that in no case would the term have expired before December 31, 2002, and if the work was published on or before that date, the term will not expire before December 31, 2047. For works created before January 1, 1978, that were published or registered before that date, the initial term of copyright was 28 years from the date of publication with notice or from the date of registration. At the end of the initial term, the copyright could be renewed for another 67 years for a total term of protection of up to 95 years. To extend copyright into the renewal term, two registrations had to be made before the original term expired: one for the original term and the other for the renewal term. This requirement was eliminated on June 26, 1992, and renewal term registration is now optional.

Copyright does not protect:

• Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, or discoveries
• Works that are not fixed in a tangible form (such as a choreographic work that has not been notated or recorded or an improvisational speech that has not been written down)
• Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans
• Familiar symbols or designs
• Mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring
• Mere listings of ingredients or contents

Websites

• U.S. Copyright Office

• Copyright Basics (Circular 1)

  U.S. Copyright Office

• What is Copyright?

  Overview of copyright law by the U.S. Copyright Office

• Copyright Basics

  Columbia University Libraries' guide on copyright

• Digital Copyright Slider - Is it still in Copyright?

by Michael Brewer, American Library Association Office for Information Technology Policy - Copyright Advisory Committee

Blogs

• Copyright: Creativity at Work

  Official blog of the U.S. Copyright Office exploring a wide variety of copyright-related topics.

• Copyright at Harvard

  Blog of Kyle K. Courtney, Copyright Advisor, Harvard Library, Harvard University.