Scholarly Communication  Tags: scholary_communication author_rights open_access communication  

Copyright is the legal right to use, distribute, and sell or give away a creative work. Anything that is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression" has copyright protection under the law: photographs, drawings, books, articles, CD-ROMs, software code, blog posts, et cetera. Under current copyright law, the creator of any work automatically owns copyright to that work once it is complete. One does not have to register their work with the US Copyright Office in order to receive copyright protection. However, registering one's work can provide proof of ownership in the event of copyright infrigement.

Copyright and You

Though you automatically own copyright once you have finished a work, if you publish or distribute your creation through a third party, you may be asked to sign over your copyright, giving up all rights to your own work. See the "Author Rights" section in order to find out how you can regain your copyrights if you have already lost them or, if you have yet to publish your work, how you can negotiate with publishers for the right to keep your copyright.

If you wish to use others' copyrighted work for analysis in your own work or in the classroom, you should check out our section on "Fair Use" to be sure that you are not breaking any copyright laws.

Copyright and Copyleft?

In recent years, a movement known as "copyleft," or "free culture," has gained popularity based on the idea that creative works should be allowed to be freely modified and shared for non-profit purposes. The copyleft movement encourages creators of works to license their materials with Creative Commons licenses, as opposed to traditional copyright registration. Proponents of copyleft claim that such licensing encourages creativity and innovation (FSF, 2005). The concept of copyleft, a philosophical cousin to both Open Access and fair use, is thought to be especially relevant in an educational context, where copyrighted materials are often used for instruction and other non-profit purposes. However, critics of the copyleft movement believe that lessening restrictions on copyrighted material will make creators of such content less motivated to produce in the future, as their rights of ownership will be diminished (CA, 2008).

Lawrence Lessig's talk at the iCommons Summit in Sapporo, Japan on July 30, 2008.

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