What should copyright say

Copyrights expire after a certain period of time. And the law allows certain limited uses of copyrighted material by others, without the creator's permission. The most important such use is "fair use," which is discussed in the next Section.

Broadly speaking, one can copyright any original work of authorship that can be "fixed in any tangible medium of expression," such as written on paper, or encoded on disk or tape, or recorded on film. This includes fiction and nonfiction writings, poetry, musical compositions words and music alike , sound recordings, photographs, paintings and drawings, sculpture, architectural works, databases, audiovisual works such as movies, and multimedia works such as those on compact discs.

Computer programs can be copyrighted, and almost always are. Unless a program is clearly denoted "freeware," you should assume it is subject to copyright protection. Unlike a patent, the degree of creativity necessary to qualify for a copyright is very modest. Virtually any original work—even a casual letter, or a compilation of information that involves some originality in selection or arrangement, such as a directory, an anthology, or a bibliography—can be copyrighted.

Copyright does not protect ideas, nor does it protect facts. It protects only the form in which ideas or facts are expressed. For example, you may read a copyrighted paper and appropriate its ideas, or facts it conveys, into your own work without violating the copyright.

However, you may not reproduce the actual text of the paper unless fair use or another exception to copyright protection applies , nor may you evade this prohibition simply by changing some words or thoroughly paraphrasing the content. What does a copyright authorize the copyright owner to do, or to restrict others from doing? Anyone who does any of these things without authorization infringes the copyright and can be liable to the copyright owner for damages.

Infringement can also be a crime, punishable by fine or imprisonment. Ordinarily, the creator does. However, if he or she creates the work in the course of employment or is retained under an appropriate contract to make the work, then the work is a "work made for hire," and the employer or the contracting party owns the copyright.

Co-creators jointly own the copyright in the work they create together. In some situations, when a work is created by a member of the University, Harvard policies vary the ownership that would otherwise result under copyright law.

For example, faculty often own the copyright in works they create even in the course of their employment. Can a copyright be transferred to someone else?

Like any other property, a copyright can be sold or given to someone else, who then becomes the owner of the copyright. A copyright is a bundle of exclusive rights, which can be transferred separately or all together. For example, in signing a book contract, an author typically transfers or grants the publisher exclusive publication rights.

A copyright owner can also retain the copyright but permit or non-exclusively license others to exercise some of the owner's rights. For example, a photographer might permit the use of one of her photographs on a book jacket. A shrink-wrap license accompanying a computer program is another example of a non-exclusive copyright license.

How does a work become copyrighted? Under current law, copyright protection begins when an eligible work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression, such as by being written on paper or recorded on film or disk.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary to register a work with the Copyright Office in Washington in order to copyright it, nor is it any longer necessary to include a copyright notice. Although statutory copyright now arises when a work is fixed in a tangible form, common law copyright may protect expression that has not been fixed—for example, an extemporaneous lecture. In addition, bootlegged recordings of live musical performances are subject to statutory remedies. Should I include a copyright notice or register the copyright in my work?

Although no longer required for copyright protection, a copyright notice is advisable. Though not required for copyright protection, a notice will prevent a defense of innocent infringement and will inform others that the work is copyrighted and by whom, thus potentially deterring infringement and facilitating requests for permission. Registration of the copyright with the Copyright Office, while not necessary unless you wish to sue for infringement, confers certain benefits—for example, making statutory damages available—and thus may be desirable for some works.

To gain some of those benefits, you must register before the infringement commenced or within a specified period after first publication of the work. Forms and instructions for registering a copyright are available at the U.

Copyright Office website, www. Copyright infringement and plagiarism are two different things. Plagiarism is the misappropriation of another's work, passing it off as your own without indicating the source. Conversely, it is possible to infringe without plagiarizing. Properly citing the work you are copying does not avoid liability for infringement. When do copyrights expire, and how can I determine if an old work is still covered by copyright?

The answer is somewhat complicated, largely because the rules governing the copyright term have been amended a number of times. The term of United States copyright protection will depend upon when the work was created, whether it is unpublished or published, and when it was first published. For works created in or thereafter, the copyright term commences upon creation.

For most works, the term continues for the life of the author plus 70 years. For pseudonymous and anonymous works, and works made for hire, the term continues until 95 years from first publication or years from creation, whichever expires first.

Works that were created before but remained unpublished on January 1, have the same term as works created in or thereafter, as described above, with one exception. The exception is that the copyright term of any such work that was published before the end of will not expire before the end of Before the current Copyright Act became effective in , publication of a work in the United States with a proper copyright notice conferred statutory copyright and commenced the copyright term.

Publication of the work in the United States without a proper copyright notice placed the work in the public domain, with narrow exceptions. The same general rule continued, with somewhat broader exceptions, until March 1, Hence, for works published in the United States before or, with more exceptions, before March 1, , if there is no copyright notice, the work may well be in the public domain. Be particularly careful with works of foreign origin. Special rules have restored copyright in some foreign works published in this country without proper notice.

Works that were created before and published with a proper copyright notice before are now in the public domain. Works published with a proper copyright notice from through had an initial copyright term of 28 years, which could be renewed for a second term that now extends 67 years, for a total of 95 years.

For these works, a renewal filing with the Copyright Office near the end of the first term was necessary to secure the second term; if a timely filing was not made, the work fell into the public domain at the end of the first term. To determine whether the copyright was renewed, you can check with the Copyright Office in Washington , or www.

Alternatively, you can find some, but not all, Copyright Office renewal records online, either at the Copyright Office website www.

Works published with a proper copyright notice from through also had an initial term of 28 years, with a renewal term of 67 years, for a total of 95 years, but the renewal term vested or will vest automatically at the end of the first term without any filing. Footnote 1 of the Hirtle document contains references to a number of other useful resources. Note that one work may incorporate or be based upon an earlier work.

For example, with appropriate permission, a motion picture may be based on a novel, or a book may include a photograph. The copyrights remain separate. Hence, the copyright term of the earlier work is not extended by the use of that work in the later work.

But the copyright notice on the later work may pertain only to the later work, which can lead to confusion about the copyright status of the earlier work. Sometimes a work that has fallen into the public domain is published with new commentary, notes or the like. The public domain work may be copied by others, but not the new matter, which is protected by copyright. The discussion above concerns copyright term in the United States.

The copyright term in foreign countries often varies from that in the U. This is true for works created in this country by U. If you are reproducing, publishing, distributing or displaying a work in a foreign country, you will need to investigate the copyright term in that country, a subject beyond the scope of this guide.

The copyright lasts for a term of years see above , regardless of whether the work is still in print. How do I get permission to reproduce or disseminate someone else's copyrighted work? Find the copyright owner and ask. There are no special forms that must be used, and permission can be oral or written, though it is good practice to obtain permission in writing. The copyright owner is free to charge whatever fee he or she wishes, though the user is likewise free to try to negotiate a lower fee.

Most major publishers and periodicals have a "permissions desk" or a "rights editor," and a written request addressed in this way will usually find its way to the right person. You should specify the publication you wish to take from; the precise pages, chapters, photographs or the like you want to use; how many copies you want to make; and the purpose of your use for example, "as a handout in an undergraduate course in economics at Harvard College".

Many permissions desks accept requests by e-mail or through the publisher's website. You can make as many copies as you like, without advance permission, from certain academic and scholarly journals now enrolled with the Copyright Clearance Center, a private clearing house ; www. After you copy, you remit the prescribed per-copy fee to the CCC.

If a publication is enrolled with the CCC, its masthead will usually provide the necessary information. The CCC rules for course packs may differ; check with them for current information.

Because the electronic environment presents us with new media, and even calls into question the concept of works "fixed" in a "tangible medium," a great many questions challenge the conventions of copyright doctrine. Congress and the courts are struggling to keep up with new technology, and the opinions of scholars and commentators on how the law should cope with these new changes are in lively conflict. Nonetheless, certain principles endure. The first and most important is that there is copyright law in cyberspace.

A work that is available electronically—even if it is available only electronically—is as eligible for copyright protection as a work in any other medium. Thus, the fact that you can download text or graphics does not mean that the material is not copyrighted. Very quickly, here are a few examples of copyright notices that you can either work from, copy or otherwise use. Obviously, the list goes on, but you should be able to understand some of the ways you can display the notice.

The main thing is to convey all of the information that others would expect from a copyright notice and the four things above should relay it fine. There are plenty of creative ones out there though that is a topic for another day.

The Four Elements Typically, a copyright notice contains four different elements, each of which are brief but important. All in all, it should only take you a few seconds to write a good copyright notice, but if you want any further guidance, here are a few examples below: Tying it Together Very quickly, here are a few examples of copyright notices that you can either work from, copy or otherwise use.

Copyright Office. See Copyright Registration and Enforcement. Then apply the following rules to see if the copyright has expired:. Call the Records, Research, and Certification Section at You can also hire a private copyright search firm to see if a renewal was filed. Finally, you may be able to conduct a renewal search yourself. Renewal searches can be conducted at the Copyright Office in Washington D.