Copyrighted Materials
Information today flows faster and more freely than ever thanks to advances in libraries and other technologies.
While accessing all this information on and beyond the Internet, you should always be mindful of
where content
originates,
who might actually
own the content, and what the
terms are for you to
access and use that content.
Aside from times you need to cite sources for research purposes, there may be times you may need to
work with information in ways that require
written permission from
copyright holders before you proceed.
The "Public Domain"
Copyrights exist to protect the
intellectual property of authors, artists, and musicians, and they remain in effect
for many decades. In the United States, copyright law is defined under
Title 17 of the
United States Code,
which contains America's federal laws. Copyrights are often denoted by the
© symbol, although the absence of such a symbol
or copyright statement is not necessarily indicative that something is "in the public domain."
Things definitively designated as "public domain" are considered to be the property of the public,
available to anyone to use as they wish. Such works are no longer protected by copyright.
Trademarks & Patents
Copyrights pertain to certain creations. There are other ways ideas and inventions are protected through such
things as
trademarks and
patents. The
United States Patent and Trade Office issues
trademarks and patents. Like copyrights, patents and trademarks provide legal protection to items
and processes that fall under their legal domain.
Intellecutal Property
There is also the worldwide concept of intellectual property (IP) – who owns an item. To learn more about IP,
visit the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) website and follow
their link (under) entitled
"What is IP?"
"Fair Use"
Certain very limited uses of a copyrighted work are sometimes permitted under the provision of Fair Use, which
is when a work may be partially referenced for very specific educational purposes, such as in a classroom or in
research. You cannot claim to use the "Fair Use" provision to avoid copyright law and make one or more copies
of something. Determine the copyright status of an item before doing anything.
Determine the Status!
How do you find out about the copyright status of a particular item? When at a website, look for links
(sometimes located at the bottom of a web page) such as "Copyright," "Licensing," "Terms of Service" or "Usage
Guidelines." If a specific answer to your question is unavailable, you should contact the publisher of the content
in question to learn if there are any restrictions placed on the content being made available.
When in doubt, ask! If you download or use the content in any way the provider did not intend, you might run
the risk of copyright infringement, which means, among other things, unauthorized use of content and a violation
of the rights of the copyright owner. This is a serious offense. Before downloading, copying, or sharing files,
creating derivative works, or doing anything else with content in any form, clear your intentions with the
copyright owner(s) or you may face legal fees and prosecution.
Other Licensing Models
Some items on the Internet are released under difference licenses. For example, there is the
Copyleft / GNU Public License (GPL) at www.gnu.org/copyleft
that is often used by "open source" software authors, who make
their programs available along with the source code that makes those programs work.
Another example is the
Creative Commons Licensing (CC) agreement (at
www.creativecommons.org),
and many other forms of licensing agreements set up by individuals, companies, and organizations around the world.
"Licensing" modules determine the terms under which you may (or may not) access or use an item. Some
"licensing agreements" require payment, and some might restrict you in very specific ways. Many files,
such as eBooks (electronic books) and music files, make use of Digital Rights Management (DRM),
which use software to limit how any given text is stored, displayed, used - and for how long.
For More Information...
To learn more about copyright law and procedures, visit
www.copyright.gov.
Books on all the topics mentioned here should be available at your local library. Members of Thrall or other RCLS
libraries can click on any of the following subjects to explore related topics in the library system catalog: