Copyright Facts

• Copyright materials can only be submitted if you have received written permission. The University of Minnesota and commercial printers will not print any copyright materials without a release.

• If you decide to disregard copyright laws and reproduce copyrighted materials without permission, you may be held liable for any misuse of copyrighted materials.

• Copyright is the right of the author of a creative work to control the copying of that work, as well as its revision or other modification. Copyright protects almost any matter which is capable of being copied, such as texts, articles, drawings, photos, Web pages, audio, etc.

• For published works, copyright is often held by the publisher and not the author(s). In the scientific world, copyright often transfers from the author to the publisher when the work is published. In such cases, reproduction permissions must be obtained from the journal or publisher, not the author.

• Most images in journals, on the Internet, in books, and in newspapers are copyrighted, even if they do not bear a copyright notice. Use of these photos, graphs, charts, drawings, cartoons, etc. requires that you request and receive permission from the copyright holder.

• Many materials originating in the federal government Web sites are in the public domain, meaning this material can be used without permission. Some educational Web sites also allow use of materials without permission. Be thorough in investigating each Web site to see what restrictions and requirements exist for duplication.

• Do not assume that your use of someone’s materials will be excused as free advertising / promotion of his/her work. The copyright owner can still sue for illegal copying even if your use did promote awareness of his/her work.

• There is a “fair use” defense to copyright infringement, but it depends on numerous factors, such as the amount copied, the degree of need to copy, the impact of the copying on the value of the work, whether the copyright was a nonprofit / educational nature or for profit, etc. Fair use depends on ALL of these factors, so it is insufficient to allege that the copying was done for nonprofit and / or educational uses. Since it is risky to depend on fair use, it’s better to get permission before copying.

• Err on the side of caution. It’s better to get permission than to get sued.

• For more information on copyright law, you may visit the following Web sites:

  • http://www.copyright.gov/
  • http://www.lib.umn.edu/copyright/
  • http://www.copyright.umn.edu/home.htm

• Types of Works Protected by Copyright:

  • literary works
  • musical works, including accompanying words
  • dramatic works, including accompanying music
  • pantomimes and choreographic works
  • pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
  • motion pictures and other audiovisual works
  • sound recordings
  • architectural works

• Copyright law gives copyright owners the exclusive right to:

  • Reproduce a work
  • Prepare derivative works based on the original
  • Distribute copies
  • Perform the work
  • Display the work
  • To perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission, in the case of sound recordings

• What is Not Protected:

  • titles, names, short phrases and slogans; familiar symbols or designs, mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, mere listings of ingredients or contents
  • ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration
  • certain works produced by government employees
  • works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship

• Length of Copyright Term:

  • Works published in 1922 or earlier are in the public domain. For unpublished works, the copyright term is life of the author plus 70 years (i.e. if the author died in 1936, copyright protection expired in 2006). Calculating copyright duration is more complex for recent works. In general, published works created on or after January 1, 1978 are protected for life of the author plus 70 years. In the case of joint authorship copyright protection subsists for 70 years after the death of the last surviving author.
  • For more information on term length, visit http://www.lib.umn.edu/copyright/PDchart.phtml

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