Creative Commons: Basics of Copyright

A person receives copyright protection for their work the moment the work becomes fixed in a tangible form in the U.S.

Other countries require registration of the work to have copyright protection.

Creative commons (2020) p. 16

Creative commons (2020) pp. 31 - 34

Two main purposes of copyright:

• One purpose is the right of a creator to control how their work will be used, distributed, and passed on to others.

• The other purpose is an economic one about providing incentives of develop creative work.

• Copyright is to protect the expression of facts and ideas. Not the facts or ideas themselves.

• Copyright in the U.S. is automatic the moment something become fixed in a tangible medium.

• In the U.S. copyright last the life of the creator plus 70 years.

• Copyright is also a balancing act between the creator and public interest.

Creative commons (2020) pp.17-18

Copyright Clearance Center (2021)

Public domain is:

• Works that copyright has expired.

• Works that did not have a copyright to them. 

• Works that are in the interest to communities as a whole.

• Works that can be freely copied, shared, altered by anyone.

Vector illustration of a public domain sign. Black and white drawing of a symbol for content without copyright. Public domain https://publicdomainvectors.org/en/free-clipart/Public-domain-logo-vector-clip-art/24004.html

The definition of intellectual property (IP):

• A type of property that involves intangible human creativity.

• Two types of IP are trademarks and patents.

• Copyright is under the umbrella of intellectual property.

Creative commons (2020) p. 22

The figures used throughout this page are CC-licensed works or are available in the public domain. The list below includes the URLs for each CC license or public domain tool referenced in the figures, so you can easily navigate to the appropriate license.

Public domain clipart https://publicdomainvectors.org/en/free-clipart/Public-domain-logo-vector-clip-art/24004.html

The U.S. Copyright Office is part of the Library of Congress and in addition to registering copyright claims, this office provides information on all things copyright.  Some useful links on their websites:

• Copyright Basics

• Frequently Asked Questions About Copyright

• Fair Use

• Orphan Works and Mass Digitization

• United States Copyright Law

• Code of Federal Regulations

• Legislative Developments

• Copyright Federal Register Notices