Copyright Basics - the Highlights
An introduction to copyright law drawn
from the copyright statute and from
Copyright Basics by the Library of
Congress, Copyright Office:
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1
.html
Ronald W. Staudt
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Copyright Basics
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U.S. Constitution Art 1, Sect. 8 Cl. 8
“To promote the progress of science and useful
arts, by securing for limited times to authors
and inventors the exclusive right to their
respective writings and discoveries”
Copyright Basics
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U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 - 810
§ 102. Subject matter of
copyright: In general
(a) Copyright protection subsists, in
accordance with this title, in original works
of authorship
fixed in any tangible medium of
expression, now known or later developed,
from which they can be perceived,
reproduced, or otherwise communicated,
either directly or with the aid of a machine
or device.
“original works of authorship “

Originality demands that the work not be
copied.

Second requirement imposed by the Supreme
Court is that there must be at least a minimum
level of creativity.
A work is "fixed" in a tangible
medium of expression
when its embodiment in a copy or
phonorecord, by or under the authority of
the author, is sufficiently permanent or
stable to permit it to be perceived,
reproduced, or otherwise communicated
for a period of more than transitory
duration. A work consisting of sounds,
images, or both, that are being
transmitted, is "fixed" for purposes of this
title if a fixation of the work is being made
simultaneously with its transmission.
§ 102. Works of authorship
include the following categories:
(1) literary works;
(2) musical works, including any
accompanying words;
(3) dramatic works, including any
accompanying music;
(4) pantomimes and choreographic works;
(5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
(6) motion pictures and other audiovisual
works;
(7) sound recordings; and
(8) architectural works.
Works that can be protected by
copyright

Literary works
–
Books, articles, letters
–
Computer source and object
code
Works that can be protected by
copyright

Musical works

Sound recordings
Works that can be protected by
copyright

Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works
–
–
–
Paintings, drawings
Photographs
statues
§ 102(b)
In no case does copyright protection for an
original work of authorship extend to any
idea,
procedure,
process,
system,
method of operation,
concept,
principle, or discovery,
regardless of the form in which it is
described, explained, illustrated, or
embodied in such work.
Copyright protects expression

§ 102(b) embodies the famous
copyright “idea/expression
dichotomy”
–
–
Ideas are not protected – anyone can do
a play about star crossed lovers
Expression is protected – you cannot
copy the dialog from West Side Story
Things that are not copyrightable
subject matter

Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes,
concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as
distinguished from a description, explanation, or
illustration
Things that are not copyrightable
subject matter

Works that have not been fixed in a tangible
form of expression, (for example, choreographic
works that have not been notated or recorded, or
improvisational speeches or performances that
have not been written or recorded)
Things that are not copyrightable
subject matter

Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans;
familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of
typographic ornamentation, lettering, or
coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents
Things that are not copyrightable
subject matter

Works consisting entirely of information that is
common property and containing no original
authorship (for example: standard calendars,
height and weight charts, tape measures and
rulers, and lists or tables taken from public
documents or other common sources)
More things that are not
copyrightable subject matter
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Works in the public domain
–
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The works of Shakespeare, for example,
Fonts
History or other facts
Recipes
Scenes a faire
Processes, systems, methods of operations
Sec. 103. Subject matter of
copyright: Compilations and
derivative works
(a) The subject matter of copyright as specified
by section 102 includes compilations and
derivative works, but protection for a work
employing preexisting material in which
copyright subsists does not extend to any part
of the work in which such material has been
used unlawfully.
Sec. 103. Subject matter of
copyright: Compilations and
derivative works

(b) The copyright in a compilation or derivative
work extends only to the material contributed by
the author of such work, as distinguished from the
preexisting material employed in the work, and
does not imply any exclusive right in the
preexisting material. The copyright in such work is
independent of, and does not affect or enlarge the
scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence of, any
copyright protection in the preexisting material.
A "compilation"

is a work formed by the collection and
assembling of preexisting materials or of
data that are selected, coordinated, or
arranged in such a way that the resulting
work as a whole constitutes an original
work of authorship. The term
"compilation" includes collective works.
A compilation can be an “original
work of authorship” if
its selection, coordination and arrangement is
not copied and .
its selection, coordination and arrangement
evidences at least a minimum level of
creativity.
A "derivative work"
is a work based upon one or more
preexisting works, such as a translation,
musical arrangement, dramatization,
fictionalization, motion picture version,
sound recording, art reproduction,
abridgment, condensation, or any other
form in which a work may be recast,
transformed, or adapted. A work consisting
of editorial revisions, annotations,
elaborations, or other modifications which,
as a whole, represent an original work of
authorship, is a "derivative work"
A "derivative work"
Can be the movie or
the book or the play.
A derivative work can be an
“original work of authorship” if
its editorial revisions, annotations,
elaborations, or other modifications
… as a whole
are not copied and
evidence at least a minimum level of
creativity
Sec. 201. Ownership of copyright


(a) Initial Ownership. - Copyright in a work
protected under this title vests initially in the
author or authors of the work. The authors of a
joint work are co-owners of copyright in the
work.
Employer if the work is made for hire or the
work is specially ordered or commissioned
A "work made for hire" is
(1) a work prepared by an employee
within the scope of his or her
employment; or
A "work made for hire" is

(2) a work specially ordered or
commissioned for use as a contribution to
a collective work, as a part of a motion
picture or other audiovisual work, as a
translation, as a supplementary work, as a
compilation, as an instructional text, as a
test, as answer material for a test, or as an
atlas, if the parties expressly agree in a
written instrument signed by them that the
work shall be considered a work made for
hire.
Sec. 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;
Sec. 106. Exclusive rights in
copyrighted works
(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the
copyrighted
work;
Sec. 106. Exclusive rights in
copyrighted works
(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;
Sec. 106. Exclusive rights in
copyrighted works
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;
Sec. 106. Exclusive rights in
copyrighted works
(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
Sec. 106. Exclusive rights in
copyrighted works
(6) in the case of sound recordings, to perform
the copyrighted work publicly by means of a
digital audio transmission.
NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT


The use of a copyright notice is no longer
required under U. S. law, although it is often
beneficial. Because prior law did contain such
a requirement, however, the use of notice is
still relevant to the copyright status of older
works.
Copyright Basics
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html
COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION


In general, copyright registration is a legal
formality intended to make a public record of the
basic facts of a particular copyright. However,
registration is not a condition of copyright
protection. Even though registration is not a
requirement for protection, the copyright law
provides several inducements or advantages to
encourage copyright owners to make registration.
Copyright Basics
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html#cr
HOW LONG COPYRIGHT
PROTECTION ENDURES
A work that is created … on or after January 1, 1978,
is automatically protected from the moment of its
creation and is ordinarily given a term enduring for
the author's life plus an additional 70 years after
the author's death. … For works made for hire, and
for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless
the author's identity is revealed in Copyright Office
records), the duration of copyright will be 95 years
from publication or 120 years from creation,
whichever is shorter.
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html#cr
Sec. 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
Fair Use Factors
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;
Fair Use Factors
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
Fair Use Factors
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion
used in relation to the copyrighted work as a
whole; and
Fair Use Factors
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market
for or value of the copyrighted work.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
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Copyright Office Summary (pdf)