What is a copyright?

A bundle of exclusive rights:
the right to reproduce a work
the right to create adaptations of a work ("derivative works")
the right to distribute copies of a work
the right to publicly perform a work
the right to publicly display a work
the right to digitally perform sound recordings

What does copyright protect?

It protects "original works of authorship" fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright protects a wide range of works, including:
Motion pictures
Advertising and publicity materials
Newspapers and other periodicals
Web sites (but not domain names)
Computer software
Fine art, including photography, sculpture, paintings
Greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys
Novels, plays, poetry
Blueprints and technical drawings
Some databases and directories
Works of architecture
Musical works; dramatic works; choreographic works

What are the exceptions to copyright protection?

Copyright does not protect:
ideas
facts
slogans and short phrases
names
titles
methods of doing business
familiar symbols or designs
mere listing of ingredients or contents
blank forms that merely record basic information
common information such as standard calendars
measurements, schedules
effort

How do I obtain a copyright?

There are significant advantages, though, to registering your copyright.
Registration gives you:
the right to file suit for infringement
the right to recover your attorney's fees from an infringer
the right to recover statutory damages
Authors typically grant exclusive rights to publishers and others in exchange for payments or future royalties. Exclusive licenses under copyright must be in writing.

Don't you have to use that little "©" symbol to have a copyright?

The requirement of a copyright notice was abolished in 1989. Before then, distributing copies of your work without the copyright notice could have injected the work into the public domain, where it could be copied freely by anyone, with no compensation to you.
There are still advantages, though, to using the notice.

What does the notice consist of?

For published works, there are three elements:
the word "Copyright" or the © symbol;
the year in which the work is first published; and (3)
the name of the copyright owner. For example:
© 2003 by Apex Corporation;
or:
Copyright 2003 by Apex Corporation.
For published phonorecords of sound recordings (e.g., a CD), the symbol used is the letter P in a circle:

How long does a copyright last?

The Constitution grants copyright protection "for limited times," and the current duration of copyright protection is the life of the author plus 70 years.

Is this the term for all copyrights?

No.  The exception to the "life plus 70" rule is for works made for hire (see below). Their term is 95 years from first publication, or 120 years from creation, whichever expires sooner. Also, works created before 1978 under a previous Copyright Act currently have terms of protection totaling 95 years from the date of first publication.

How do you know when your work is published?

Publication is the act of distributing copies to the public, or offering the copies to the public--even if no one wants one!  Publication of your novel by Random House, for example, is certainly "publication" within the meaning of the Copyright Act. But so is standing on a street corner handing out copies for free to anyone who wants one.

Who is the owner of a copyright?

The general rule is that the person who creates a work is the legal author and owner of the copyright of that work. The only exception to this rule is for works made for hire.

What is a work made for hire?

A work made for hire is an exception to the general copyright principle that the creator of a work is automatically the legal author and owner of the copyright.
"Work made for hire" is defined by the Copyright Act. There are only two categories of works that qualify as works for hire.
A.   Works created by employees within the scope of their employment.
Any work created by an employee within the scope of his or her employment is a work made for hire. The employer is automatically the legal author and owner of the copyright. There is no need for a written agreement designating the work as a work made for hire.
B.   Any of nine categories of works specially commissioned IF AND ONLY IF there is a written agreement designating the work as a work made for hire.
When you hire an independent contractor to create a work, the work can be a work for hire if the work is one of the nine types of works designated in the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101, and you and the independent contractor sign an agreement that the work will be considered one made for hire.

The nine categories are:
contribution to a collective work
part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
translation
supplementary work
compilation
instructional text
test
answer material for a test
atlas
Some works, such as Web sites, may not fit neatly within these categories, and in the case of disputes courts ultimately decide how to interpret these categories. However, if you hire an independent contractor to create a work that definitely does not fit within the above nine categories, the work cannot be a work made for hire. The independent contractor will be the owner of the copyright on the work. You must either have the independent contractor assign (i.e., transfer) the copyright to you in writing or negotiate a license to use the work.
In other words, merely calling a work a "work for hire" does not make it one. It must qualify under the Copyright Act.

What is the right of termination, and when does it apply?

Copyright law acknowledges that it is often impossible to predict which creative works will turn out to have long-term commercial potential, and recognizes that authors may sometimes initially sell their copyright for small sums, only to discover later that they created a "hit" but are not reaping the financial rewards. So copyright law has built into it the right for an author to reclaim his or her copyright, called a "termination right."
The right to terminate a transfer of copyright is subject to many limitations and restrictions. For works created since the 1978 Copyright Act went into effect, the termination "window" in time begins 35 years after the copyright was first assigned, and lasts for five years. For works created before 1978, different and more complex termination rights may apply. (For works made for hire, there are no termination rights; works made for hire will always belong to the employer or hiring party.) If you would like to discuss whether any of these termination provisions may potentially apply to you, either as an author, an author's heir, or a company to whom copyrights were transferred, please contact our Intellectual Property Group.

What is fair use?

Fair use is the exception to the basic principle that any reproduction or adaptation of part or all of a work is an infringement of copyright if it's done without the permission of the copyright owner. Fair use was designed to legitimize certain limited copying, primarily for purposes such as teaching, scholarship, news reporting, and the like. Courts have extended its reach beyond those original purposes, but generally speaking, copying that is done for profit will not be considered a fair use.
Examples:  quoting from a book in a review of that book would be a fair use. A teacher's reproduction of five short poems from an anthology of poetry would also be a fair use. Beyond those obvious examples, the point at which a fair use becomes an infringement is ultimately decided by the courts on a case-by-case basis.
Section 107 of the Copyright Act identifies four factors that courts should consider when assessing whether unauthorized copying is fair:
(1)  the nature and character of the use (e.g., is it for teaching? scholarship?   or for commercial purposes?)
(2)  the nature of the copyrighted work (e.g., is it artistic or literary? or factual or scientific?); the scope of fair use is narrower for artistic works
(3)  the amount and substantiality of the copying
(4)  the effect of the use on the market for the underlying work
In addition to the fair use doctrine, the Copyright Act allows for limited situations where libraries may make a single archived copy, or where musical works can be performed in particular educational or religious settings.  These exceptions are, however, very limited.

How does copyright work with trademark and patent protection?

Trademark and unfair competition laws protect your commercial identity as a uniquely identifiable source of goods and/or services, and may protect the unique trade dress of your products. Copyrights protect any tangible expression created by you or your company. For example, a publishing company would have trademark rights in its name, and would hold copyrights in the books it publishes; a clothing manufacturer may hold a copyright in a fabric design as well as trademark rights in its name; a pharmaceutical company may hold patents, copyrights, and trademarks that all work together to protect its intellectual property. For more information on how intellectual property rights work together to benefit you or your company please contact us.

How does copyright apply in the digital era?

Copyright law has responded quickly to the opportunities and challenges of the digital age, and new legislation continues to be introduced and discussed. Recent legislation such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act provides new protections for digital uses of copyright, including protection for digital security measures designed to prevent unlicensed uses of digitized works.

How are copyrights enforced?

Copyright owners can enforce their exclusive rights against unauthorized uses in several ways, including:
Monitoring for infringing uses
Monitoring of royalty and license agreements and payments due
Cease and desist letters
Civil litigation in federal court seeking actual and statutory damages
Criminal prosecution where applicable under federal law