Copyright laws protect works. The complexity of copyright laws often inspires anxiety, and the, at times, vague meanings and exceptions of things like fair use and public domain make understanding your rights as an educator, very difficult. This guide is designed to simplify copyrights laws and clarify your rights to use other works for educational purposes.
Copyright Law in the United States is defined by Title 17 of the United States Code, the complete text of which can be viewed HERE.
Go the the Copyright in the Classroom guide HERE
The information in this guide is based on recommendations by the U.S. Copyright Office and the Library Copyright Institute a project coordinated by Duke University, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University, and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, whose work is oriented around helping libraries provide useful and accurate information about copyright law and practices for their communities.
Click HERE to take Richardson Library's online Copyright Course
Click HERE to see Morgan State's Intellectual Property Policy.
Hours for Spring 2024
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. An original work of authorship is a work that is independently created by a human author and possesses at least some minimal degree of creativity. A work is “fixed” when it is captured (either by or under the authority of an author) in a sufficiently permanent medium such that the work can be perceived, reproduced, or communicated for more than a short time. Copyright protection in the United States exists automatically from the moment the original work of authorship is fixed.
What Can be Copyrighted?
Examples of copyrightable works include:
What Cannot Be Copyrighted?
Examples of things not protected by Copyright:
For more information, see:
Copyright Circular 1 "Copyright Basics"
Copyright Circular 33 "Works Not Protected by Copyright"
