Copyright & Fair Use for Faculty

Copyright protection is provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of "original works of authorship," which are fixed in a tangible medium, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works and includes widely available material including material posted online. 

The following provides a brief introduction to the basic principles of copyright and what is and is not protected.. More detailed information can be found by visiting the United States Copyright Office website.

What is protected?

Any original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced or otherwise communicated. Works of authorship include: 

• literary works;
• musical works, including any accompanying words;
• dramatic works, including accompanying music;
• pantomimes and choreographic works;
• pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
• motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
• sound recordings; and
• architectural works.

What isn't protected?

• ideas or concepts,
• procedures
• processes or systems
• principles or discoveries
• works not fixed in a tangible form
• titles, names, short phrases, slogans (these may be protected by trademark law)
• lists showing no originality 
• factual information
• U.S. government works
• works in the public domain

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to:

• Reproduce the copyrighted work
• Prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work 
• distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending
• to display the copyrighted work publicly, in the case of literary, dramatic, and choreographed works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or audiovisual work
• to preform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission, in the case of sound recordings

Limits on the exclusive rights of copyright owners:

• Fair use. The fair use limitation on the exclusive rights of copyright owners provides an opportunity for limited allowable uses of copyrighted material. However, this is not a one size fits all determination, and each use of a copyrighted material should be evaluated separately for eligibility under Section 107 of the Copyright Act (Fair Use). 
• Rights granted to libraries under Section 108 of the Copyright Act. 
• The "first sale" doctrine permits the owner of a lawfully obtained copy of a copyrighted work (i.e. DVD purchased at a store) to lend or dispose of that copy without permission of the copyright holder. 
• Performances and displays by instructors or pupils during face-to-face teaching activities at a nonprofit educational institution when in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance or the display of individual images is given by means of a copy that was lawfully made. This exception does not permit copying and/or distribution of the work; only displays or performances during class time. This exception does not apply to performances and displays of works via online settings (virtual class meetings). 

Copyright is granted to a work for a limited number of time, after which it passes into the public domain and can be freely used and copied. The length of the copyright term depends on a variety of factors, including laws that were in effect at the time of creation of a copyrighted work. 

• Under the current law, works created on or after January 1, 1978, have a copyright term of the life of the author, plus seventy years after the author's death. If the work has multiple authors, then the term lasts for seventy years after the last surviving author's death. 
• For works made for hire and anonymous or pseudonymous works, copyright protection is 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. 
• Works created before 1978 have a different timeframe. Learn more about copyright duration Section 301, Chapter 3: Duration of Copyright. 

For assistance making a copyright term determination, visit the Copyright Genie tool created by Michael Brewer & The ALA Office for Information Technology Policy.