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Copyright Resource Guide for Students

The purpose of this guide is to provide students with information and resources for copyright.

A little deeper: What copyright does and doesn't protect

The rights of copyright

Copyright is seen as a bundle of rights.  These rights include the right to:

Bundled sticks
Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/uteart/4309590712
  • Make copies of the work
  • Distribute copies of the work (by selling, renting, lending, or giving it away)
  • Perform or display the work publicly
  • Make derivative works, like translations, adaptations, and reinterpretations

Because these rights are imagined as a bundle, the owner of the copyright can give away, sell, or otherwise license some or all of these rights to others (as when an author negotiates a contract - they may give the publisher the right to copy and distribute the work but not make future derivative works, for instance).

What Copyright Protects

Copyright only applies to the following kinds of works:

  • 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

This list encompasses most kinds of creative or intellectual expression.  Works must also be "fixed in a tangible medium of expression".  Unfixed works like improvised music, speeches, or dances are not protected by copyright.

Remember: copyright is not designed to reward hard work but, rather, to foster creativity.  Works that took a lot of effort to put together but that don't contain original expression do not qualify for copyright protection.

Picture of a graph, not protected by copyrightWhat is NOT protected by copyright

  • procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation (these are protected by patents) 
  • ideas, concepts, principles, or discoveries
  • titles, names, short phrases and slogans; familiar symbols or designs, mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, mere listings of ingredients or contents
  • other unoriginal or unfixed works

 

 

Copyright Information

SUNY Broome  Community College Library is grateful to Rachel Bridgewater at Portland Community College, who created the original resource that this guide is adapted from.

"Copyright Resources" by Rachel Bridgewater, Portland Community College is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0