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Copyright & Fair Use

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and
unpublished works.
Source: Copyright.gov

What is Protected by Copyright?

  • Literary works
  • Musical works, including any accompanying words
  • Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
  • Pantomimes and choreographic works
  • Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
  • Sound recordings
  • Architectural works

Source: Crew, K.D. (2012). Copyright law for librarians and educators (3rd ed.). Chicago: American Library Association 

Course Materials in D2L

To comply with copyright policies and database contracts, it is best to link to the full text of articles in library databases. Please click the Linking to Library Materials in D2L tab for linking help.

Copyright Resources

Copyright Policies for Journals

Public Domain Works

If you use content that resides in the public domain (currently anything published before 1924), there's no need to worry about copyright violations! The resources below can connect you to content in the public domain. To learn more about the timeline of works entering into the public domain, visit the Cornell University Library's Copyright Information Center.