What's Protected and Not Protected?
What Works are Protected?
- Literary works
- Musical works, including any accompanying words
- Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
- Pantomimes and choreographic works
- Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
- Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
- Sound recordings
- Architectural works
What is Not Protected by Copyright?
- Computer Software
- Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression by being written, recorded or captured electronically.
- Titles, names, short phrases and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents.
- Ideas, facts, data, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation or illustration.
- Works consisting entirely of information that are natural or self-evident facts, containing no original authorship, such as the white pages of telephone books, standard calendars, height and weight charts and tape measures and rulers.
- Works created by the U.S. Government.
- Works for which copyright has expired; works in the public domain.
Public Domain
The public domain is not a place. A work of authorship is in the “public domain” if it is no longer under copyright protection or if it failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection. Works in the public domain may be used freely without the permission of the former copyright owner.
Contact the Copyright Manager
Have a Copyright question?
We're here to help!
Email us: juannetta.legree@downstate.edu or use our online form.
Copyright Manager is available:
Mon - Fri from 9am to 5pm
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