- Originates from the Constitution
- Protects expression
- Promotes science and the useful arts
- Evolves with new forms of expression
Copyright is a form of intellectual property that provides authors of creative
expression control over how their works are used by others. Copyright is
established automatically upon creation of works meeting the eligibility
requirements and provides a set of exclusive rights to the owner, including the
right to make and distribute copies of a work.
U.S. copyright law is federal, not state law. Under the United
States Constitution, Congress is given the power "to promote the progress of science
and useful arts" by granting authors, for limited times, exclusive rights to their writings.
Over the years, "authors" has been expanded and copyright now protects a wide variety of
Do you really need to delve into the law?
Quite simply, yes. Copyright is everywhere and you probably come into contact
with copyright issues a lot more often than you think. Do you send and read
email? Browse the web? Watch TV? Listen to the radio? Use a photocopier in the
library? Check out the day's events on your FarSide® calendar? All of these
activities involve accessing or creating copyrighted works. What you or others
may do with those works is governed by copyright law. You don't need to learn to
recite every section of copyright law, but you do need to know the basic concepts
to know how copyright protects your works and how to avoid getting into trouble
for using someone else's work.
For more information:
The U.S. Copyright Office
website provides information on copyright law, pending legislation, and
copyright registration procedures.
The following sections include excerpts from copyright law and links are
provided for those interested in reading the full text of a particular section of
the law. The full text of the entire copyright law can be found at
Title 17 of the United States Code.