is generally considered to be in the public domain and
not subject to copyright laws. However, when
copyrighted material is used (with permission) in a
government publication, it cannot be reproduced by a
private citizen or in another government publication
without again requesting permission from the copyright
owner. Copyrighted material in a government
publication must have a statement identifying the
copyright holder and indicating that permission has
been granted for its use.
COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP
Copyright protection exists from the time the work
is created in fixed form; that is, it is an incident of the
process of authorship. The copyright in the work of
authorship immediately becomes the property of the
author who created it. Only the author or those deriving
their rights through the author can rightfully claim
copyright.
In the case of works made for hire, as is the case
when military personnel or civilian employees of the
federal government author a “work” on government
time, the employer and not the employee is
presumptively considered the author. Section 101 of the
copyright statute defines a “work made for hire” as the
following:
1. A work prepared by an employee within the
scope of his employment.
2. A work specially ordered or commissioned for
use as a contribution to a collective work, as a part of a
motion picture or other audiovisual work, as a
translation, as a supplementary work, as a compilation,
as an instructional text, as a test, as answer material for
a test or as an atlas, if the parties expressly agree in a
written instrument signed by them that the work shall be
considered a work made for hire.
The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the
copyright in the work unless there is an agreement to the
contrary.
Copyright in each separate contribution to a
periodical or other collective work is distinct from
copyright in the collective work as a whole and vests
initially with the author of the contribution.
Mere ownership of a book, manuscript, painting or
any other copy or phonorecord does not give the
possessor the copyright. The law provides that transfer
of ownership of any material object that embodies a
protected work does not of itself convey any rights in
the copyright.
Minors may claim copyright, but state laws may
regulate the business dealings involving copyrights
owned by minors. For information on relevant state
laws, you may wish to contact your local bar association.
COPYRIGHT AVAILABILITY
Copyright protection is available for all
unpublished works regardless of the nationality or
domicile of the author.
Published works are eligible for copyright
protection in the United States if any one of the
following conditions is met:
l
l
l
l
On the date of first publication, one or more of
the authors is a national or domiciliary of the
United States or is a national, domiciliary or
sovereign authority of a foreign nation that is a
party to a copyright treaty to which the United
States also is a party or is a stateless person
wherever that person may be domiciled.
The work is first published in the United States
or in a foreign nation that, on the date of first
publication, is a party to the Universal Copyright
Convention; or the work comes within the scope
of a presidential proclamation.
The work is first published on or after March 1,
1989, in a foreign nation that on the date of first
publication, is a party to the Berne Convention;
or, if the work is not first published in a country
party to the Berne Convention, it is published (on
or after March 1, 1989) within 30 days of first
publication in a country that is party to the Berne
Convention.
The work is first published on or after March 1,
1989, and is a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural
work that is incorporated in a permanent
structure located in the United States; or, if the
work, first published on or after March 1, 1989,
is a published audiovisual work and all the
authors are legal entities with headquarters in the
United States.
SECURING A COPYRIGHT
The way in which copyright protection is secured
under the present law is frequently misunderstood. No
publication or registration or any other action in the
Copyright Office is required for copyright to be secured
under the new law. This differs from the old law, which
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