How Do I Become a Copyright Owner?

Legal copyright protection vests immediately and automatically upon the creation of an "original work of authorship" that is "fixed in any tangible medium of expression." An "original work" needs to have a minimal amount of creativity. For example, alphabetical listings in the phone book are not original, but advertising layouts, photographs, software, and many other works are likely "original." To be "fixed in a tangible medium of expression" is defined as the work being sufficiently permanent or stable to allow it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise. For example, scribbles on paper or documents saved to disk are clearly "fixed."

As a result, each one of us creates new protected works when we write journal articles, produce videotapes, create works of art, or write computer software. In fact, under today's law, copyright also applies to notes that we dash off at meetings, letters home to family, and photographs that we take on vacation.

What Is A Work-Made-For-Hire?

Some works that we create will not belong to us. For example, some works created on the job may belong to our employer under the "work-made-for-hire" doctrine. If the work is a "work-made-for-hire," then all rights in that work belong to the employer.

The most common type of work-made-for-hire is a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment. Some factors to look at to determine whether an employee is acting within the scope of employment when creating a work are: Control over the work, ownership of the tools used, location of the work, benefits, and tax treatment of the compensation earned.

Another type of work that may be deemed a work-made-for-hire is a work prepared by an independent contractor. The same types of factors used to determine an employee/employer relationship are used to determine independent contractor status. Once the author is found to be an independent contractor, the work may still be deemed a work-made-for-hire only if it is specially ordered or commissioned and the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by both of them that the work shall be considered a work-made-for-hire. This rule applies only to certain types of works. Read the work-made-for-hire statutes for more information.

What Rights Does the University Have In My Work?

Ownership of copyrights in works written as part of university responsibilities depends on the nature of the work. In keeping with academic tradition, copyrights in textbooks or other works of a primarily pedagogical or scholarly nature vest with the faculty author. Copyrights in faculty works that utilize substantial university resources, like distance education curriculum that utilize system employees in the development process, are retained by the University. Education Material Copyrights in faculty works of a commercial nature, such as a computer program that optimizes a telephone network, would belong to the university, at least in part, if the works were developed using university resources or developed under a university managed Sponsored Research Program. Royalty revenue from university licensing of copyrights is shared with faculty authors of the work and their research groups and administrative unit. For more information, refer to our IP that is Education Materials Brochure and contact the Technology Transfer Office.

How Do I Include a Formal Copyright Symbol?

Under current law, the formal copyright notice is no longer required to secure copyright protection. Nevertheless, use of the notice is still good practice for many practical reasons and for some possible legal benefits that may later arise. The Copyright Management Center recommends that you include the statutory and conventional copyright notice, consisting of three elements: the word "copyright" or the copyright symbol, the year, and the name of the copyright owner. A typical notice may appear as follows: "Copyright 2002, [your name]."

You no doubt will often see "All Rights Reserved" added after the formal copyright notice on many works. It is a requirement that once had great importance for securing rights in some foreign countries pursuant to the Buenos Aires Convention of 1914. Most of those countries since have signed the Berne Convention, which provides for mutual copyright protection of works from many foreign countries, regardless of any copyright notice whatsoever on the work. Thus, the phrase "All Rights Reserved" may grant additional protection in only a few countries. If you are concerned, feel free to add it on your work.

How Do I Register My Copyrights?

As with the formal copyright notice, copyright registration is also no longer required under current law. But it also provides some important practical and legal benefits. In particular, if you anticipate the need to rigorously enforce protection of the work, or if you plan to publish it, you should register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office. Check out the Copyright Registration page at the U.S. Copyright Office for helpful insights and instructions.

Can I Transfer My Copyrights To Someone Else?

Copyrights may be transferred in part or in whole. You may transfer the right to transfer, the right to prepare derivatives of your work, the right to distribute copies, or the right to perform or display the work publicly. You can transfer any or all of these through any method, including licensing. Remember, all transfers must be in writing and signed by the transferor.

Many publishers require the assignment of copyrights in publishing agreements. As a faculty author, you are generally responsible for deciding if transfer is appropriate. In reality, publishers usually do not need all rights. In fact, as the author, you may need to explicitly retain certain rights to use your publication in future teaching and research. Be sure your contract addresses your specific needs.

How Do I Grant Permission To Others?

In order to ease the ability of your users to find you and to secure the desired permission, we recommend that you add a statement following the formal copyright notice, such as: "For information about this work, please contact ________________." You may add a personal name, department name, address, telephone number, or any other information helpful to your users. As the copyright owner you have the privilege of granting or denying the intended use. You may also put reasonable restrictions on the use, and you may charge an appropriate fee. Granting or denying permission or charging any fee is largely within your discretion. If you are marketing works that belong to the University of Colorado, you should contact the Technology Transfer Office.

If you desire for anyone to use you work, we recommend to not place your work in the public domain. Instead, put on your work a statement clearly granting permission for others to use it. This way, you still maintain ownership and can protect the integrity of you work and receive credit for producing it. You should evaluate carefully the language you use in such a grant, and consider whether or not it is appropriate for the particular work. The scope and details of such a provision are not set forth in any law, and you should feel free to alter them as appropriate for your needs.

Do I Have Rights to My Published Works?

Your right to exercise any control or to make any use of your published works will generally depend upon the terms of your agreement with the publisher. Some publishers, including scholarly journal publishers, ask only for a first right of publication. Other publishers commonly insist on an assignment of the copyright. If your agreement allows you to retain the copyright, you may still have the authority to control many uses of the work. On the other hand, if you assign the copyright to the publisher, you generally have given up your rights to manage the work. If a third-party user comes to you for permission to use the work, you may no longer have the authority to grant that permission. In fact, if you want to use your own article as part of a later publication, or simply to copy it for a class or conference, you may also have given up that right as well. You should consider carefully the scope of rights that you are assigning to the publisher when you sign your publication agreements. Reading and understanding the agreement may be the most important part of the publication process, and it may directly define your future scholarly efforts. Do not hesitate to anticipate your future needs and to negotiate a contract that best serves your interests.

What Other Options Do I Have?

If you desire to publish your work in a journal, you may choose to participate in the Open Access Initiative. The Open Access Initiative is an effort among educational institutions to encourage free online access to scientific and scholarly research literature, especially peer-reviewed journal articles and their preprints. For more information on publishing in Open Access journals, check out the Public Library of Science or BioMedCentral. To see a list of Open Access journals, check out the Database of Open Access Journals.
 

Acknowledgement: Portions of this page have been excerpted, with permission, from the Indiana University's Copyright Management Center.
 

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