Copyright and Fair Use
What is Copyright?
Copyright law protects the authors of "original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works." This protection covers both published and unpublished works, regardless of the nationality or domicile of the author. It is unlawful for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by copyright law to the owner of a copyright.
What is Copyright Protected?
What is Fair Use?
Fair use is a concept embedded in U.S. law that recognizes that certain uses of copyright-protected works do not require permission from the copyright holder or its agent. These include instances of minimal use that do not interfere with the copyright holder's exclusive rights to reproduce and reuse the work.
Fair use is primarily intended to allow the use of copyright-protected works for commentary, parody, news reporting, research and education.
Copyright law protects the authors of "original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works." This protection covers both published and unpublished works, regardless of the nationality or domicile of the author. It is unlawful for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by copyright law to the owner of a copyright.
What is Copyright Protected?
- Literary works
- Musical works, including any accompanying words
- Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
- Pantomimes and choreographic works
- Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works
- Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
- Sound recordings
- Architectural works
- Computer software
What is Fair Use?
Fair use is a concept embedded in U.S. law that recognizes that certain uses of copyright-protected works do not require permission from the copyright holder or its agent. These include instances of minimal use that do not interfere with the copyright holder's exclusive rights to reproduce and reuse the work.
Fair use is primarily intended to allow the use of copyright-protected works for commentary, parody, news reporting, research and education.