Copyright and Intellectual Property

This guide is meant to be an educational resource for those looking at copyright and intellectual property information - This is not intended to be legal advice. If you have questions about your specific situation the librarians can direct you to the proper resources but cannot advise on legal matters. Please seek out an IP lawyer for legal advice. 

Life Cycle of Copyright

Copyright is not indefinite and eventually ownership of the copyright will pass into the public domain. But how long does one get to keep the copyright? This depends on multiple factors. 

Copyright law protection begins the moment a creator creates and affixes their work to a tangible form, such as a photograph or song recording. In general, for most copyright types, copyright lasts for the life of the creator plus 70 years. Anything that was created anonymously, under a pseudonym / pen name, or works made for hire last for either 95 years from the first publication date or 120 years from creation - whichever comes first. For more detailed information please visit Copyright.gov. 

Who owns a copyright? 

Typically, the owner of the copyright is also the creator of the work itself. However, this may not always be the case. A creator of a work can give the copyrights over to another via written consent - think of publishing contracts. For works that were created by two or more people - they all share the copyright holding equally. Joint copyright holders have equal rights to exercise and enforce their rights. 

The other type of copyright holders may be from "work of hire" meaning that the creator was asked to create something for their company and therefore the company is the copyright holder. 

A note for Faculty & Staff - Under copyright law, "traditional works of scholarship" such as syllabi, lecture materials, or other basic course materials, are not considered "works of hire". 

Your Rights as a Copyright Holder

Copyright holders are granted 5 exclusive rights:

• The right to reproduce the work - You can reproduce exact copies of the work. 
• The right to produce derivative works - gives you the right to produce new works based off the original. Think Spin-offs, sequels, translations, and other adaptations. 
• Distribution rights - you have the right to control how the work is transferred to others. This can be via sale, lending, lease, or renting. 
• Public Performance rights - gives you the right to determine how a work is publicly performed*. This includes anything that can be performed except for sound recordings. 
• Public Display rights - you have the right to control how a work is displayed in public - such as a photo or graphic design. 

*A performance is considered “public” when the work is: performed in a place open to the public, or performed at a place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances are gathered, or is transmitted to multiple locations. 

What else do I need to know as the author?

• Author rights and literary rights are phrases used interchangeably. They pretty much describes the same thing - who owns the copyright to a particular work. 
• The author is the Copyright holder automatically unless/ until the copyright is transferred to someone else in a signed agreement. 
• You can sometimes get your author rights back even after a contract has been signed. Some publishers will allow clauses to revert copyright ownership back to the author if a certain set of criteria is met. 
• The Copyright holder controls the work. Decisions made about the use, distribution, access, pricing, updates, and restrictions belong to the copyright holder. 
• If you have transferred your copyright without retaining any rights do not maintain control of their work. The new copyright holder makes those decisions unless some rights have been retained. If you want to be able to share, copy, or reuse your work after a copyright transfer be sure to hold on to a few rights. 
• Transferring your copyright does not have to be all or nothing - you can maintain some rights while still transferring the ownership. If you're ever unsure contact a copyright expert or legal council to ensure your rights are being protected. 

If you have suggestions for how to make this page better, please contact Elizabeth Jerow, Library Director (jerow@msoe.edu).