Copyright: Protecting Your Rights

United States' copyright law has its roots in the U.S. Constitution. The primary purpose of copyright is to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Tımes to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." (U.S. Const. art. I, §8.)

A copyright owner of a work has the exclusive legal right to do and authorize any of the following:

• to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords
• to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work
• 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
• in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly
• 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
• in the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission

Copyright law is complex and if you create works that are potentially financially valuable or prestigious, you may want to consult an intellectual property attorney to ensure you protect your rights appropriately. But, here are some basic tips to help you understand how your rights are or are not protected.

• Publication is not necessary for a work to be protected by copyright. However, the length of time that the work is protected may differ for unpublished and published works. Also, there are different considerations that would apply to unpublished vs. published works if a legal infringement case is brought.
• Copyrights can be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, but that is not absolutely necessary. Registering your copyright puts others on notice that your work is protected and makes it easier to bring legal action if your copyright is infringed.
• Under current law, as soon as a work is fixed in a tangible medium, it is protected by copyright law.
• Copyright does not protect ideas, concepts, systems, or methods of doing something. Inventions may be patentable, however.
• To be protected by copyright, a work must contain a sufficient amount of creativity. For example, a list of facts cannot be copyrighted. A work with a unique way of compiling facts might be copyrighted, however.
• When you publish an article, take care to read the agreement between you and the journal in which your article will be published. Note that some publishers ask you to transfer the copyright of your article to them.