Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the
authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain
other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section
106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to
authorize others to do the following:
To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords; To prepare derivative works based upon the work;
To display the copyrighted work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic
works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a
motion picture or other audiovisual work; and
In addition, certain authors of works of visual art have the rights of attribution and integrity as
described in section 106A of the 1976 Copyright Act. For further information, request Circular 40,
“Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts.”
It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the copyright law to the owner of
copyright. These rights, however, are not unlimited in scope. Sections 107 through 121 of the 1976
Copyright Act establish limitations on these rights. In some cases, these limitations are specified
exemptions from copyright liability. One major limitation is the doctrine of "fair use," which is given a
statutory basis in section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act. In other instances, the limitation takes the
form of a "compulsory license" under which certain limited uses of copyrighted works are permitted
upon payment of specified royalties and compliance with statutory conditions. For further information
about the limitations of any of these rights, consult the copyright law or write to the Copyright Office.
Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work
of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author
or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.