Information About Copyright

• University of Texas Copyright Crash Course

• Fair Use
• Who Owns What
• Clearing Rights for Multimedia Works

• University of Maryland University College

  • Copyright Primer
  • Digital Primer

• What is in the Public Domain?

Any work that is not protected by copyright, either because it is ineligible for protection by its nature or because its copyright has expired, is in the public domain, meaning that it can be freely reproduced or distributed.  A work may be copyrighted by registration; by publication with notice; or, for certain time periods, simply by virtue of its being "fixed in a tangible medium of expression."  Cornell University's Copyright Information Center maintains a Public Domain Chart that will help you determine if a work copyrighted in the United States is still protected.  Note: Works produced by the United States government are not protected by copyright and are always in the public domain.  For further guidance in determining whether or not a work is in the public domain, consult the Chart.

• Digital Millennium Copyright Act

• Text of the Copyright Law: Title 17, United States Code

• § 106. Exclusive rights in copyrighted works.

  Subject to sections 107 through 120, the owner of copyright under this title 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.

• § 106A. Rights of certain authors to attribution and integrity.

• § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.

  Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -
  
  (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
  (2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
  (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
  (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

• § 109. Limitations on exclusive rights: Effect of transfer of particular copy or phonorecord.

• § 110. Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays.

  Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not infringements of copyright:
  
  (1) performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made;
  (2) performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work or display of a work, by or in the course of a transmission, if -
  (A) the performance or display is a regular part of the systematic instructional activities of a governmental body or a nonprofit educational institution; and
  (B) the performance or display is directly related and of material assistance to the teaching content of the transmission; and
  (C) the transmission is made primarily for -
  (i) reception in classrooms or similar places normally devoted to instruction, or
  (ii) reception by persons to whom the transmission is directed because their disabilities or other special circumstances prevent their attendance in classrooms or similar places normally devoted to instruction, or
  (iii) reception by officers or employees of governmental bodies as a part of their official duties or employment;
  (3) performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work or of a dramatico-musical work of a religious nature, or display of a work, in the course of services at a place of worship or other religious assembly;
  (4) performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work otherwise than in a transmission to the public, without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and without payment of any fee or other compensation for the performance to any of its performers, promoters, or organizers, if -
  (A) there is no direct or indirect admission charge; or
  (B) the proceeds, after deducting the reasonable costs of producing the performance, are used exclusively for educational, religious, or charitable purposes and not for private financial gain, except where the copyright owner has served notice of objection to the performance under the following conditions;
  (i) the notice shall be in writing and signed by the copyright owner or such owner's duly authorized agent; and
  (ii) the notice shall be served on the person responsible for the performance at least seven days before the date of the performance, and shall state the reasons for the objection; and
  (iii) the notice shall comply, in form, content, and manner of service, with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation;
  (5) communication of a transmission embodying a performance or display of a work by the public reception of the transmission on a single receiving apparatus of a kind commonly used in private homes, unless -
  (A) a direct charge is made to see or hear the transmission; or
  (B) the transmission thus received is further transmitted to the public;
  (6) performance of a nondramatic musical work by a governmental body or a nonprofit agricultural or horticultural organization, in the course of an annual agricultural or horticultural fair or exhibition conducted by such body or organization; the exemption provided by this clause shall extend to any liability for copyright infringement that would otherwise be imposed on such body or organization, under doctrines of vicarious liability or related infringement, for a performance by a concessionnaire, business establishment, or other person at such fair or exhibition, but shall not excuse any such person from liability for the performance;
  (7) performance of a nondramatic musical work by a vending establishment open to the public at large without any direct or indirect admission charge, where the sole purpose of the performance is to promote the retail sale of copies or phonorecords of the work, and the performance is not transmitted beyond the place where the establishment is located and is within the immediate area where the sale is occurring;
  (8) performance of a nondramatic literary work, by or in the course of a transmission specifically designed for and primarily directed to blind or other handicapped persons who are unable to read normal printed material as a result of their handicap, or deaf or other handicapped persons who are unable to hear the aural signals accompanying a transmission of visual signals, if the performance is made without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and its transmission is made through the facilities of:
  (i) a governmental body; or
  (ii) a noncommercial educational broadcast station (as defined in section 397 of title 47); or
  (iii) a radio subcarrier authorization (as defined in 47 CFR 73.293-73.295 and 73.593-73.595); or (iv) a cable system (as defined in section 111(f)).
  (9) performance on a single occasion of a dramatic literary work published at least ten years before the date of the performance, by or in the course of a transmission specifically designed for and primarily directed to blind or other handicapped persons who are unable to read normal printed material as a result of their handicap, if the performance is made without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and its transmission is made through the facilities of a radio subcarrier authorization referred to in clause (8)(iii), provided that the provisions of this clause shall not be applicable to more than one performance of the same work by the same performers or under the auspices of the same organization.
  (10) notwithstanding paragraph 4 above, the following is not an infringement of copyright: performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work in the course of a social function which is organized and promoted by a nonprofit veterans' organization or a nonprofit fraternal organization to which the general public is not invited, but not including the invitees of the organizations, if the proceeds from the performance, after deducting the reasonable costs of producing the performance, are used exclusively for charitable purposes and not for financial gain. For purposes of this section the social functions of any college or university fraternity or sorority shall not be included unless the social function is held solely to raise funds for a specific charitable purpose.

• § 111. Limitations on exclusive rights: Secondary transmissions.