This page offers an overview of copyright: why it exists, how it works, and when the law is subject to flexibility.

Why we have copyright law • What can have a copyright? • What cannot have a copyright? • How to get a copyright • Exceptions and limitations • Copyright vs. license • top ^

Why we have copyright law

There are many stories about the purpose of copyright, however two dominate most discussions.

Economics and the public interest

The story of copyright in U.S. law revolves around economic incentives and social progress. Copyright laws exist to manage ownership, use, and distribution of creative works.

In this economic view, creators produce works primarily to earn a living. By enabling creators to get paid through copyright protection, the law encourages the production of more creative works. This, in turn, benefits society by advancing art, science, knowledge, and culture.

Thus, copyright law helps creators control and monetize their works, leading to more creations, which ultimately benefits all society.

“Moral rights” for creators

In many countries outside the U.S., copyright law is rooted in the “moral rights” of creators, rather than economic incentives.

Moral rights stem from the deep personal connection between creators and their works. Because of this bond, the law recognizes creators’ rights to attribution and reputation. Under this framework, creators still have economic rights (such as the right to make copies), but they also hold moral rights that allow them to be credited for their work and to prevent uses they disapprove of. In many countries, these moral rights are non-transferable and remain with the creator, even if the economic rights are sold or transferred to someone else.

What can have a copyright?

Copyright law governs the creation, ownership, sale, and use of creative works. While many see copyright as something distant or irrelevant to their lives, in the U.S. (and most other countries), a work is automatically protected by copyright the moment it’s created, with ownership typically going to the creator. This means nearly everyone owns and uses copyrights in their everyday lives.

A copyright owner gets to control who can:

  • Make copies of the work,
  • Distribute copies of the work (by selling, renting, lending, or giving it away),
  • Perform or display the work publicly, and
  • Make derivative works, like translations, adaptations, and reinterpretations.

A copyright owner can share some or all of those rights with other people or organizations by transferring ownership, or by granting licenses. 

The copyright rights outlined above only apply to works that are

  • 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

Some of the categories are bigger than you might think. For instance, “literary works” includes almost all text-based media, including instructional content, submitted coursework, and even computer code.

To qualify for copyright, works that fit into one of the categories above must also be “fixed in a tangible medium of expression.” Almost anything counts as “fixed” — a drawing on a chalkboard or whiteboard, or a file saved in a computer’s memory would qualify. However, works that aren’t fixed, such as improvised speeches or music, aren’t protected by copyright unless they’re recorded.

Additionally, the work must contain original creative expression. While the originality bar is low, mere effort isn’t enough. For example, compiling a list of Nobel Prize winners may take effort, but it lacks original expression. However, if you add commentary or annotations to that list, your contributions would be eligible for copyright protection.

What cannot have a copyright?

Copyright does not apply to:

  • Procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation
    • These qualify for protection and ownership under patent law, and patent and copyright do not usually overlap.
  • Ideas, concepts, principles, or discoveries
    • Broadly speaking, these are not ownable under any form of U.S. intellectual property law. This reflects important values about intellectual freedom and encouraging innovation.
  • Titles, names, short phrases, slogans (these may be protected by trademark law)
  • Familiar symbols or designs
  • Typefaces, fonts, and lettering
  • Recipes
  • Layout and design
  • Blank forms
  • Works not fixed in a tangible form
  • Factual information
  • Federal U.S. government works (individual state statutes may vary)
  • Works in the public domain

More info on what copyright doesn’t do, from the U.S. Copyright Office:

How to get a copyright

You don’t have to do anything to get a copyright. As soon as an eligible work is created, it is automatically fully protected. 

Registration can be useful, but it is optional. You also do not have to include a copyright notice, date, the © symbol, or any other information on the work in order to own a copyright. (These have been requirements in the past.) 

Employers usually own the works created by employees in the course of their employment, and commissioned works (“works for hire”) are often owned by the party that commissioned them. Someone who is not a creator may acquire ownership of a copyright through a written agreement with the creator.

Copyrights can be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office by any legal owner, at any time during the term of copyright protection. Early registration (within 3 months of publication, and/or before infringements are discovered) brings some benefits if a lawsuit ever arises. There is a nominal fee for registration, and a copy of the work must be deposited with the Copyright Office. (More info: Copyright Office FAQ)

How long copyrights last

For works created today, copyright protection starts automatically as soon as a work is created, and lasts for 70 years after the death of the creator.

Because copyright terms have been changed several times, the term lengths for older works vary widely, based on a huge number of factors. Learn more about how copyright terms end, and works rise into the public domain.

Exceptions and limitations: copyright’s built-in loopholes

The public domain

The public domain is the collection of all creative works that have no copyright — or, in other words, works that belong to everyone. It serves as a rich source of knowledge, culture, and creativity. In fact, the growth of the public domain is one of the key reasons copyright exists!

Anyone can freely use public domain works for any purpose without needing permission, as no one holds exclusive rights to these works. However, using public domain materials can still raise legal issues, such as defamation, rights of publicity, or trademark concerns if individuals or organizations depicted in the works are involved.

People sometimes mistakenly believe that anything freely available online is in the public domain. But “public domain” has a specific meaning: works that no longer have copyright protection. Most free online content is still copyrighted.

While copyright gives creators some control over their work, it’s not absolute. Copyright law includes exceptions that allow certain uses without permission, especially when building on or being influenced by previous works. These exceptions are designed to ensure that the public can still engage with creative works in meaningful ways.

These built-in loopholes in copyright law are called exceptions and limitations. There are many, but two are particularly important for education and research uses. 

Fair use

Fair use is a major exception within copyright law, offering flexibility but sometimes making it tricky to predict. It allows certain uses of copyrighted material without permission, such as quoting a book for a review or displaying a reproduction of artwork for critique. This is what makes these activities legal.

Copyrights eventually end

In the United States, the only sure-bet works where copyright has ended are those that were published here before 1926. (That date moves forward each January 1. In 2024, works published before 1928 will move into the public domain; in 2025, works published before 1929 will move into the public domain.) 

Many works that were published in other countries in that time period, or created then but never published, may still be covered by copyright in the U.S. It is possible for a work to be in the public domain in one country, and still covered by copyright in another!

But because the law is complicated and has changed a lot, copyright has also ended for many works that were published more recently. There may be works published as late as the 1960s and 1970s where the copyright has ended. See the resources below for more information on all the details!

Some copyrights never exist

All works created by the U.S. federal government (and federal employees in the course of their work) are in the public domain in the U.S. from the moment of their creation — there is no copyright, in the U.S., in U.S. federal government works.

Works also might not have a copyright if they do not meet copyright eligibility requirements. For example, the originality requirement also means that human authorship is required (see section 313.2 in the Copyright Office Compendium.) 

Other exceptions, exemptions, and limitations

There are lots of other exceptions, exemptions, and limitations in copyright. A few interesting examples:

  • First sale says that once a single copy of a creative work has been sold, that particular copy can be redistributed by anyone. First sale is one of the legal rules that lets libraries lend materials to their communities. It’s also how the used book, CD, movie, game, and software markets work (although contracts like End-User License Agreements also sometimes restrict resale). 
  • Libraries are allowed to provide copiers, scanners, etc. — without being liable for users’ copying. Commercial copy shops, by contrast, may be liable for any infringing copies made on their machines.
  • Small businesses are allowed to have radios and TVs where customers can see and hear them — under certain conditions. If not for this exception, the TVs and radios might constitute unauthorized public performances!

There is a difference between copyright and a license

Copyright refers to the set of rights given to owners of eligible works. A license is a legal agreement that determines the conditions under which an end user may use the work. Importantly, a license agreement supersedes other aspects of copyright law. Here is an example:

You access a 19th-century novel from a database to which your library subscribes. Although the novel is out of copyright, the licensing agreement states that a user may not reproduce the content without permission. Therefore, while you could go out, find a print copy of the novel, and make a copy, you may not make a copy using the version found in the database.

Some creators choose to use Creative Commons Licenses in order to share content for which they own the copyright in a variety of standardized ways. Using content with a Creative Commons License greatly simplifies an analysis of how you may use other peoples’ work.