What is copyright?

What is copyright?

Copyright is the bundle of rights granted by law to authors and creators of original works. In the U.S., copyright law provides these rights to the creator(s) of “original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium of expression.”

Under U.S. Copyright law, copyright is automatically given once an original work is fixed in a tangible medium.

So, when you write a paper (which is either printed or saved as a digital file), you as the author/creator automatically hold a copyright to that work.

Learn more

See our Copyright Resource Guide.

See our tutorial:
Fair Use & Copyright in Instruction

Question and Answer

Under U.S. Copyright law, copyright is automatically given once an original work is fixed in a tangible medium.

So, when you write a paper (which is either printed or saved as a digital file), you as the author/creator automatically hold a copyright to that work.