Find Out if Something Is Copyrighted

Copyright protects original works of authorship, such as books, movies and songs. In general, works that have been copyrighted cannot be used without the permission of the author. Every country has its own copyright laws, which means that even if a work is not protected by copyright in the U.S., it may be protected by copyright in a foreign country. To find out whether a work is copyrighted in the U.S., first examine the work itself for clues as to whether or not it is protected by copyright. Works not protected by copyright are considered to be in the "public domain" and can be used freely. If you suspect a work may be protected by copyright, search for it through the records of the U.S. Copyright Office. Finally, even if a work is copyrighted, consider using it on a limited basis within the parameters of "fair use."

Steps

Looking For Clues on the Work Itself

  1. Examine the work for a copyright notice. Many works state whether or not they have been copyrighted. You will know that the work has been copyrighted if it includes a "copyright notice," which is marked either by a "c" in a circle (©) or the word "copyright" followed by the date of first publication and the name of the copyright owner. [1]
    • If the work is a book, look for a copyright page. It is typically found on the back side of the title page.
    • If the work is a film or a television show, the copyright is usually included at the end of the credits.
    • If the work is a CD or LP, look for a reference to the copyright on the packaging.
    • If the work is a magazine, the copyright will likely be found near the Table of Contents at the beginning of an issue.
    • If the work is a digital photograph, the copyright will be indicated by a tag. If it is a print photograph, the copyright will be on the back of the image.
  2. Look at the date. Some works enter the public domain because the copyright on them has expired. This applies to:[2]
    • All works published in the U.S. before 1923
    • Some works published with a copyright notice after 1923 if, for example, the copyright was never renewed. To find out whether a copyright was renewed, you will likely have to search the records of the U.S. Copyright Office.
  3. Consider the type of work. Some works automatically enter the public domain upon creation because they are not copyrightable. These include:[2]
    • Titles, names, short phrases and slogans, familiar symbols, numbers
    • Ideas and facts (e.g., the date of the Gettysburg Address)
    • Processes and systems
    • Government works and documents
  4. Look for the "CC0" Public Domain mark. Some owners of copyrighted works choose to waive their interests and place their works in the public domain through the website "Creative Commons." You can identify a work that has been dedicated to the public domain through the "CC0" mark.[3]
    • When searching for images online, look for small print under the image that reads: "Copyright and related rights waived via CC0."[4]
  5. Determine whether a work is unpublished. Unpublished material is protected by copyright law, even if it contains no reference to a copyright and has not been registered with the Copyright Office. The law only requires that such works be fixed in a tangible form. For this reason, you need to be even more careful about using material that has never been published.[5]
    • To determine whether or not a work has been published, find out whether or not it was intended for public distribution. If only a few copies were created and distribution was limited, it is likely unpublished.
    • If you believe a work is unpublished, find out whether the author is deceased. Copyright in an unpublished work will expire 70 years after the death of the author. If the author (or the date of the author's death) is unknown, or if the author is a corporate body, the copyright will expire 120 years after the date on which the work was created.
    • Avoid using unpublished material in archives or manuscript collections unless you are certain the copyright has expired. Much of this material is likely still protected by copyright.
  6. Be wary of "orphan works." Many works created after 1923 are presumably still protected by copyright, but their owners cannot be found. Such works are referred to as "orphan works." You should be wary of using material from orphan works, as the true owner may eventually come forward and accuse you of violating his copyright.[6]
    • Mass digitalization projects, like Google Books, are replete with untraceable photos, letters and text that are technically still protected by copyright, even though their owners cannot be found. Until Congress passes legislation authorizing the use of such works, you run the risk of violating copyright law in taking material from them.
  7. Refer to websites that store only public domain works. Some websites collect books, images, illustrations, audio, and films where the copyright term has expired or the creator has not renewed the license. These works are in the public domain and free to be used for any purpose. Such websites include:[2]
    • Smithsonian Institution Public Domain Images
    • New York Times Public Domain Archives
    • Project Gutenberg, a collection of public domain electronic books
    • Librivox, public domain audio books
    • Prelinger Archives; a vast collection of advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur films.

Searching the Copyright Database

  1. Conduct your own search at the Copyright Office. Identify the author, title and publisher of a work and then visit the U.S. Copyright Office to search for records regarding your work. The Copyright Office is located in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. and is open to the public on Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.[7]
    • Register with the Public Information Office, which is located at LM-401 on the fourth floor of the James Madison Memorial Building.[7]
    • Once you are a registered user, visit the Copyright Office Public Records Reading Room (also on the fourth floor of the James Madison Memorial Building.[7]
    • Your search method will depend on the date in which the work was copyrighted. This presents a challenge since presumably you won't know whether the work was copyrighted in the first place. Based on what you do know about the work, make a guess as to whether it would have been copyrighted before or after 1978. For works copyrighted before January 1, 1978, use the physical card catalogue to search for your work. For works copyrighted after January 1, 1978, use the online card catalogue. If you believe it could have either, search both catalogues.[8]
    • If using the physical card catalogue, ask the Copyright Office employee on duty for help searching your work and retrieving the certificate registration and any other ownership documents.[9]
    • If using the online card catalogue, approach one of the available computers and click on "Search Records" from the home screen. On the next screen, click on "Search the Catalogue."[10]
    • Insert a search term into the top box. Indicate the type of search term (i.e. title of the work, the name of the author or keyword) in the bottom box. If searching by title, omit the initial article (i.e. "The" or "A"). Click "Begin Search" to perform the search.[10]
    • The search will produce a list of titles on the next screen. Look for the title and date that matches your work. Click on the correct work to view the certificate of registration and other records related to the work.[10]
  2. Examine the certificate of registration. If you are performing the search on your own through the Copyright Office, you will need to examine the certificate of registration to determine who initially acquired ownership. You will also need to review other transfer and renewal documents to find out if ownership was transferred to a third party.[11]
    • When reviewing the certificate of registration, look for the owner's name in the space in Section 4 entitled “Copyright Claimant.”[11]
    • Look for assignments and other transfer documents to find out whether ownership was transferred to another party.[11]
    • Examine the date of the work's copyright notice. Any work published before 1923 is in the public domain.[11]
    • Look for renewal notices. Any works registered or published before 1964 in which a copyright was not renewed are now in the public domain. Any works registered or published after 1963 may still be protected even if the copyright was not renewed.[11]
  3. Hire the Copyright Office to perform search on your behalf. If you are not able to or do not feel comfortable searching the records of the Copyright Office on your own, you can hire the Copyright Office staff to perform the search and send you a written report. This search will cost you $200 for each hour of research and there is a two hour minimum. [12]
    • Fill out the online request form on the Copyright Office website: www.copyright.gov/forms/search_estimate.html.
    • The Copyright Office will respond with an estimate of the total search fee within two to five days.[13]
    • Provide whatever detailed information you know about your request, such as the title of the work, names of authors, name of the probable copyright owner, the approximate year when the work was published and the type of work involved (book, play, musical composition, sound recording, photograph, etc.).[14]
  4. Hire a private search company. As an alternative to hiring the Copyright Office staff to conduct your search, you can hire a private company to search Copyright Office records for you.[11]
    • There are two advantages to hiring a private company to conduct your search. First, a private company can deliver reliable results more quickly than the Copyright Office staff, within two to ten days of your request. Second, in addition to determining whether a work is in the public domain or whether you can obtain the rights to use the work, a private company can provide other services, such as tracing the copyright history of a fictional character or locating similarly titled works.
    • Private search companies charge from $75 to $300 per search.
    • The largest and best known copyright search company is Thomson & Thomson Copyright Research Group (www.thomson-thomson.com).

Limiting Yourself to “Fair Use” of the Copyright

  1. Create something new rather than copying. In determining whether the use of copyrighted material is considered "fair," courts consider the purpose and character of the use. If the material is used in a way that is transformative, meaning that it alters the fundamental character of the original work, the use is considered fair. However, if the new version merely copies or supersedes the original work, then the use is not fair. [5]
    • For example, a poet who uses a line from a T.S. Eliot poem in her own poem is likely within the doctrine of "fair use" because she is using it to create a new poem.
  2. Use only for certain purposes. The purpose for which you use the copyrighted work is also critical. Generally, the following uses are deemed "fair use" of copyrighted material:[15]
    • Criticism and comment-- for example, while copying a song lyric is generally not permitted, it may be considered "fair use" if reproduced within the context of a music review.[16]
    • News reporting
    • Research and scholarship
    • Non-profit educational use-- for example, photocopying of limited portions of written works by teachers for classroom use.[15]
    • Parody
  3. Consider the nature of the copyrighted work. Another factor courts consider is the nature of the copyrighted work. Certain types of works, like unpublished or highly creative works, are protected more closely. Therefore, your use of such works is more likely to violate copyright law.[5]
    • Determine whether the work you want to use is published or unpublished. If only a few copies were made and it was never intended for public distribution, it is likely unpublished and any use of it could be risky.
    • Ask yourself if the work is highly creative or purely factual. If you choose to take material from a work that is highly creative, like a poem or a song, you are more likely to violate copyright law.
  4. Restrict your use to a small and relatively insignificant portion of the copyrighted work. Courts also consider the amount of the copyrighted work that was used and the relative importance of that section to the work as a whole.[5]
    • For example, copying a few lines from a novel could be safely within fair use unless those lines are critical to the heart of the overall work. [17]
    • On the other hand, even copying one line of a song might violate copyright law because the total content of the song is so short. [17]
  5. Evaluate how your use will affect the value of the original work. A final factor courts consider is the impact of your use on the existing and potential market value of the original work.[5]
    • Ask yourself: will your use of the copyrighted work deprive the owner of the copyright of a significant source of potential or existing income?
    • For example, a sculptor used copyrighted photographs to create sculptures and sold them for several hundred thousand dollars. Even though the sculptor used the photographs in a way that was entirely new, a court found the sculptor had violated copyright law by depriving the photographer of a potential market that existed for his photographs.[18]



Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/copyright-research/getting-started/#sthash.52F7fwn9.dpuf
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://www.teachingcopyright.org/handout/public-domain-faq
  3. ↑ https://creativecommons.org/about/cc0
  4. ↑ https://wiki.creativecommons.org/Marking_your_work_with_a_CC_license#Adding_a_CC0_public_domain_notice_to_your_work
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 http://www2.archivists.org/publications/brochures/copyright-and-unpublished-material
  6. ↑ http://fairuse.stanford.edu/2014/03/12/deadline-april-14th-public-invited-weigh-orphan-works-us-copyright-office/
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 http://www.copyright.gov/help/hours_location.html
  8. ↑ http://www.copyright.gov/records/
  9. ↑ http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ23.pdf
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 http://www.copyright.gov/records/voyager_tutorial.pdf
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/copyright-research/searching-records/
  12. ↑ http://copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-services.html#whoowns
  13. ↑ www.copyright.gov/forms/search_estimate.html
  14. ↑ http://copyright.gov/circs/circ22.pdf
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/fair-use-rule-copyright-material-30100.html
  16. ↑ http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/introduction/getting-permission/
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 https://www.rocketlawyer.com/article/difference-between-public-domain-and-fair-use-ps.rl
  18. ↑ http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/four-factors/

You may like

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Find_Out_if_Something_Is_Copyrighted&oldid=354943"