ALA (American Library Association) Copyright Advocacy
Copyright.gov – the official website of the United States Copyright Office. Provides general information on copyright basics, registration procedures, application forms and FAQs about copyrighting. You may also request and obtain government documents in the public domain from the Freedom of Information Act Requests link.
IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) – general information concerning copyright and intellectual property from the leading international representative of library and information services.
International Council on Archives – Copyright Exceptions for Archives
A "copyright" is actually a "bundle of rights" that the creator of a work is entitled to control if the work is "an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression." This means that in order to be entitled to copyright protection, the work has to be something you created (and didn't copy from another work) and set down in some physical form, like in writing, on videotape, in a sound recording, in a computer program or on a computer screen.
The "bundle of rights" that are included in copyright are the right to: (1) distribute the work, (2) reproduce (or make copies of) the work, (3) display the work, (4) perform the work, and (5) create derivative based upon the original work. (csusa.org)
| Copyrightable Works | Not Protected by Copyright |
|---|---|
| Literary works | Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, or discoveries |
| Musical works, including any accompanying words | Works that are not fixed in a tangible form (such as a choreographic work that has not been notated or recorded or an improvisational speech that has not been written down) |
| Dramatic works, including any accompanying music | Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans |
| Pantomimes and choreographic works | Familiar symbols or designs |
| Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works | Mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring |
| Motion pictures and other audiovisual works | Mere listings of ingredients or contents |
| Sound recordings, which are works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds | |
| Architectural works |
The Fair Use Doctrine provides for limited use of copyrighted materials for educational and research purposes without permission from the owners. It is not a blanket exemption. Instead, each proposed use must be analyzed under a four-part test.
"Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use" (Section 107) offers a set of factors to consider when using copyrighted work for teaching or research. Specifically, the factors include:
(ala.org)
To see if Fair Use applies, use the Fair Use Checklist.