Copyright Resources

Understanding copyright guidelines can be a daunting task. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine what is copyright protected and what is in the public domain.

In a nutshell, it works like this:

• U.S. works published before 1923 are now in the public domain.
• Works published between 1923-1963 are protected for a total of 95 years, providing the work's copyright was renewed in the 28th year. If it wasn't then it is now in the public domain.
• Items published between 1964-1977 are copyright protected for 95 years.
• Finally, works created on or after Januray 1, 1978 are copyright protected for the life of the author and 70 years thereafter. Works for hire have a term of 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first.

An important exception to these terms is in the area of Sound Recordings. [See below for additional information]

Determining what can be legally used under Fair Use guidelines for educational or scholarly activities can also be confusing. The following is a good rule of thumb:

• Single chapter or 10% of published book
• Article from a journal or newspaper
• Short story, essay or poem from a published work
• Chart, graph, diagram or cartoon from a published work
• 10% of a musical composition, movie, photographs or numerical databases from a published work

For more detailed copyright information please use the resources below. They will help facillitate informed decision making in the classroom or in the research arena.

Specialized assistance can be found by contacting Ask A Librarian.

Other Copyright Resources

• Copyright Permissions Center  University of Minnesota
  Helps ensure the proper use of copyrighted material. The CPC is a great resource for obtaining copyright permissions.
  
• Copyright Information and Education:  University of Minnesota Libraries
  Includes basic summaries concerning copyright fair use, and public domain, a copyright FAQ sheet, copyright scenarios, as well as a fair use analysis tool and a copyright decision map.
  
• Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the U.S.:  Cornell Copyright Information Center
  Provides detailed information regarding when an item is protected by copyright and when it is in the public domain.
  
• Copyright and Fair Use:  University of Nebraska Medical Center
  Guidelines for copyright, fair use and multimedia as well as a variety of link resources.
  
• Copyright Basics:  United States Copyright Office
  Provides a detailed foundation for understanding copyright law and protection.
  
• Digital Millenium Copyright Act:  United States Copyright Office
  Provides a detailed foundation for understanding copyright law and protection.
  
• Fair Use:  Wikipedia
  Explains the fair use doctrine in the context of U.S. copyright law.
  
• ResNet Copyright Information:  Computing Services
  Details actions taken by the University of Minnesota Morris in the vent of copyright law violations.
  
Sound Recordings Copyright:   Wikipedia
Summarizes the complex and unique state of affairs involving sound recordings (an actual specific recording) and U.S. copyright. Basically, sound recordings fixed (recorded) on or after Feb. 15, 1972 fall under federal copyright protection. This means a sound recording is protected for 90 years from the date of publication (assuming it is a work for hire as most sound recordings tend to be). Sound recordings fixed prior to Feb. 15, 1972 fall under state law copyright protection until Feb. 15, 2067. After that date federal law will supercede state law and such recordings will become part of the public domain.

• U.S. Copyright Law:  Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR)
  Details U.S. Copyright Law protection terms.