Author: Allison M. Smith

What is copyright exactly?
a form of protection given to the authors or creators of “original works of authorship”
As the author of the work, you alone have the right to do any of the following or to let others do any of the following:
make copies of your work;
distribute copies of your work
perform your work publicly
display your work publicly
What about public domain?
Works in public domain are those whose intellectual property rights have expired or unprotected by copyright or patent.
For example, Public domain materials generally fall into one of four categories:
Generic information such as facts, numbers and ideas.
Works whose copyrights have lapsed over time.
Works published before March 1989.
Works created by the U.S. federal government.
Fair Use are documents that state that under certain circumstances, copyright material may be used.
There are four factors that determine whether or not something is considered fair use:
Whatever is being used is for nonprofit educational purposes only or commercial nature
Depends on what the copyright work is
You must get permission from the copyright owner before using their work as it is the safest way.
The U.S. Copyright Office is used by copyright searchers who would like to clear the sequence of historical transfers of title and property called “chain of title” for copyrighted works.