Includes: photographs, prints, art reproductions, maps, technical drawings, architectural works
Includes: ideas, procedures, systems, concepts, principles, discoveries, and inventions (may be covered by a patent)
Includes: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, textbooks, advertising copy, and computer programs
Examples: a choreographic work or improvisational speech that has not been written down
Includes: recordings of songs and other musical performances
Includes: letters or symbols on a keyboard, musical notations, arrows, yin yangs, patterns (such as polka dot), and religious symbols
Includes: scripts for plays or movies and choreography
Includes: names of people or characters, titles, names of businesses or products, slogans (may be covered by a trademark)
Includes: films of all kinds, television shows, videogames, and their accompanying sounds
According to the US Copyright Office, "copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression." Breaking that down further:
"Works are original when they are independently created by a human author." Independent creation means the author created it themselves, without copying.
"A work is fixed when it is captured...in a sufficiently permanent medium such that the work can be perceived, reproduced, or communicated for more than a short time."
Source: U.S. Copyright Office
Once you create an original work and fix it in a tangible form of expression (e.g., taking a photo, writing a book) you are the copyright owner. This happens automatically, with no action required on the part of the author. It is possible to register your works with the United States Copyright Office, but it is not necessary to do so.
If you create a work as an employee on behalf of an employer, your employer is the copyright owner. For example, if you write a report as part of your job, your employer owns the copyright for that report.
Copyright owners have the legal right to:
Source: U.S. Copyright Office
Public domain refers to works that are not protected by copyright or any other intellectual property protection. Works in the public domain are owned by the general public, so the work can be used by anyone. Works can become part of the public domain in different ways, including the copyright protection expiring or the copyright owner voluntarily putting their work in the public domain.
Is it in the Public Domain?
Source: U.S. Copyright Office
Learn more about copyright using the links below.
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