Business Owner's Manual

Copyright

Copyright is a form of protection to which authors of original works, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and some other intellectual works, are entitled by law. Copyright ownership prevents others from copying, distributing, displaying, or performing a specific work.

 

Copyright Criteria

In order to be eligible for copyright a work must:

a) be original ( i.e. it has not been copied from somewhere else)

b) represent the actual "expression" of the author, rather than being an idea

c) be "fixed" in some tangible format

Works that can be copyrighted include:

a) literary works

b) musical works, including any accompanying words

c) dramatic works, including any accompanying music

d) pantomimes and choreographic works

e) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works

f) motion pictures and other audiovisual works

g) sound recordings

h) architectural works

 

Copyright Duration

Copyright protection lasts for definite time periods depending on when the works involved were created and published or registered. In general, works created on or after January 1, 1978 are protected for a period that includes the author's life plus 70 years; works created before January 1, 1978 are protected for a period of 75 years.

The public can search Copyright Office records at their Washington, DC location or ask the Office to do a fee based search. Beginning with 1978, all records can also be searched online at the Library of Congress Web site.

Copyright registration is not necessary, but is recommended. Although copyright protection begins at the time a work is created and registration is not a condition of copyright protection, there are at least two reasons why it is advisable to register:

1. Registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim

2. Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works created in the United States.

For information on registration procedures write to:

Library of Congress
Copyright Office
Register of Copyrights
101 Independence Ave., S.E.
Washington, DC 20559-6000

or check the Copyright Office Web site.