OER and other Open Resources: Copyright

• Basically any work created in written or audiovisual or other tangible form; it does not have to be published or registered with the Copyright office.
• Allows the owner - usually the creator, but could be also be the creator’s employer, company (work for hire) or publisher (journals will often require author to sign over copyright) – to reproduce, publicly distribute, and display
• Copyright is not forever and when it expires the work enters the public domain, i.e. it’s free to use:
  • Personal author: Life of the author + 70 years
  • Joint authors: Life + 70 years after last surviving author's death
  • Anonymous or Corporate authors and Works Made for Hire: 95 years after date of 1st publication, or 120 years after creation whichever expires 1^st
  • WORKS PUBLISHED BEFORE 1924: In public domain
  • WORKS PUBLISHED BETWEEN 1924 AND 1978: 95 YEARS AFTER PUBLICATION
  • Works published between 1924 and 1963 had to be registered and could have been renewed (check at https://exhibits.stanford.edu/copyrightrenewals). If they were not, they are in the public domain.
• No copyright on fact, ideas, procedures, processes, systems, concepts, etc.; federal government documents (unless prepared by third parties under government contract or a copyrighted work within a government publication)
• Not internationally consistent, while there are many similarities and agreements, the rules are not the same in all countries

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