Academic Writing Resources Guide

At its most basic, copyright is an aspect of the law that grants the person or entity who holds the copyright to a work exclusive rights to that work for a limited amount of time. Subject to certain limitations, it is illegal for anyone to infringe upon those exclusive rights without obtaining permission from the copyright owner.

 

What is a copyrighted work?

From Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 102 of the U.S. Code:

Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories:

1. literary works;
2. musical works, including any accompanying words;
3. dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
4. pantomimes and choreographic works;
5. pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
6. motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
7. sound recordings; and
8. architectural works.

Copyright protection does not extend to (again from Section 107 of the U.S. Code):

1. any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such copyrighted work; or
2. any work of the United States Government.

To summarize, any original work of authorship is copyrightable, but facts and concepts are not.

See 17 U.S.C. §§ 102, 103, and 105 in Links and Recommended Readings for more information.

 

Who owns the copyright?

In most cases, the creator of the work is automatically the copyright holder, unless that person or group elects to transfer the copyright to another entity. An important exception to this is works made for hire.

A work made for hire is defined in Title 17, Chapter 1, section 101 of the U.S. code as:

“a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment, or a work specifically ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work.”

In these instances, the employer is automatically the copyright holder. Like many non-for-profit educational institutions, pursuant to the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science Policy on Intellectual Property, Tangible Research Property and Commercialization of Such Properties, RFUMS chooses to forgo this right in some instances. See Works Made for Hire and the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science Policy on Intellectual Property, Tangible Research Property and Commercialization of Such Properties in Links and Recommended Readings for more information.

 

Does this mean I own a copyright?

More than likely, yes! If you have ever created a copyrightable work, as is defined in From Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 102 of the U.S. Code, and you have not transferred the copyright or created a work for hire, than you automatically own a copyright!

 

What are the exclusive rights of a copyright owner?

From Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 106 of the U.S. Code, subject to certain limitations, a copyright owner has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:

1. to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;
2. to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;
3. to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
4. in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly;
5. in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly; and
6. in the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission

So if you want to do something with a copyrighted work that is an exclusive right of a copyright owner, you must either:

1. obtain permission, or
2. fulfill the requirements of a particular limitation of that copyright owner’s exclusive rights (for example, the Fair Use Doctrine).

See 17 U.S.C. § 106 in Links and Recommended Readings for more information.