Fayetteville Technical Community College requires all faculty, staff, and students to respect the rights of copyright owners by refraining from actions that constitute an infringement of federal Copyright Law. As stated in, but not limited to, Title 17, U.S.C., Section 101 through 118, the Copyright Law governs the reproduction, distribution, and use of all copyrighted materials which includes both print and electronic versions of books, periodicals, audio recordings, video recordings, computer programs, CD-ROMs and laserdiscs. Faculty, staff, and students are responsible for adhering to the Copyright Law while using College supplies and equipment and in all production and distribution of educational materials and presentations for the College.
Unless otherwise noted, all content on the Copyright Information section of this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.
What is copyright?
The U.S. Copyright Office defines copyright as a "form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works."
What does copyright law protect?
Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. (See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section 'What Works Are Protected'.")
(United States Copyright Office. Copyright in General. Retrieved from http://copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#what.)
What is not covered under copyright law?
Patents, trademarks, trade secrets
You can find the U.S. Copyright Law in its entirety at: http://copyright.gov/title17/
[U.S. Code Title 17, Chapters 108 and 10-12]
Disclaimer: This web page provides general information concerning copyright and fair use, but does not constitute legal advice.
Copyright law, as defined in Title 17 of the United States Code, protects "original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression" for a limited period. Copyright protection includes, for instance, the legal right to publish and sell literary, artistic, or musical work, and copyright protects authors, publishers and producers, and the public. Copyright applies both to traditional media (books, records, etc.) and to digital media (electronic journals, web sites, etc.). Copyright protects the following eight categories of works:
Ownership of a copyrighted work includes the right to control the use of that work. Use of such work by others during the term of the copyright requires either permission from the author or reliance on the doctrine of fair use. Failure to do one or the other will expose the user to a claim of copyright infringement for which the law provides remedies including payment of money damages to the copyright owner.
Unless otherwise noted, all content on the Copyright Information section of this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.