(click here to access a bookmark entitled
Quick Guide to Copyright at RFUMS)

(click here to access a brochure for faculty
authored by the Association of Research Libraries)

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science is dedicated to the free exchange of ideas and the creation of knowledge. The University is also committed to respecting the intellectual property rights of others, including those of copyright owners, and to following the copyright laws of the United States (codified, in large part, in Title 17 of the United States Code).

The copyright laws of the United States are complex. This webpage is intended to assist in compliance efforts by explaining copyright concepts and posting guidelines created through the good faith application of copyright laws as they relate to the education environment.  Click here to read the University's Copyright Policy.

Copyright Law - The Basics

Subject to certain limitations, a copyright owner has exclusive rights regarding the use of a copyrighted work and it is illegal for anyone to infringe upon those exclusive rights without obtaining permission from the copyright owner.

In other words, if you want to do something with a copyrighted work that is an exclusive right of a copyright owner, then you must either:

1. obtain permission -or-
2. fulfill the requirements of a particular limitation of that copyright owner’s exclusive rights (for example, the Fair Use Doctrine).

What is a copyrighted work? A copyrighted work is an original work of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories:

1. literary works;
2. musical works, including any accompanying words;
3. dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
4. pantomimes and choreographic works;
5. pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
6. motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
7. sound recordings; and
8. architectural works.

A copyright protection does not extend to:

1. any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such copyrighted work; or
2. any work of the United States Government.

A copyrighted work does include a compilation or derivative work but copyright protection extends only to the material contributed by the author of such work, as distinguished from the preexisting material employed in the work, and does not imply any exclusive right in the preexisting material. The copyright in such work is independent of, and does not affect or enlarge the scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence of, any copyright protection in the preexisting material.

17 U.S.C. §§ 102, 103, and 105.

What are the exclusive rights of a copyright owner?  Subject to certain limitations, a copyright owner has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:

1. to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;
2. to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;
3. to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
4. in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly;
5. in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly; and
6. in the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.

17 U.S.C. § 106.