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Copyright Definitions

Welcome to Attorney Steve® Copyright College™ – The Ultimate Copyright Law Glossary!!!

Here are some of the main Copyright definitions you might want to know with links to resources to help you understand the concepts.

  1.  1909 Copyright Act
  2. 1976 Copyright Act
  3. Access to Copyright Works
  4. Anonymous Work
  5. Applicant
  6. Appeal
  7. Application Forms
  8.  Assignment of copyright
  9. Architectural Works & Designs
  10. Audio Visual Work
  11. Author Created
  12. Authorship Statement
  13. Authors widow or widower
  14. Authorized Agent
  15. Autodesk Software Audits (copyright infringement audits for Autocad, Revit, Maya, Inventor and other Autodesk products).  Typically brought by the law firm of Donahue Fitzgerald in the San Francisco Bay area.
  16.  Berne Convention [According to Wikipedia – “The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, is an international agreement governing copyright, which was first accepted in Berne, Switzerland, in 1886. The Berne Convention formally mandated several aspects of modern copyright law; it introduced the concept that a copyright exists the moment a work is “fixed”, rather than requiring registration. It also enforces a requirement that countries recognize copyrights held by the citizens of all other parties to the convention”].
  17. Best Edition
  18.  Board
  19.  “Bundle of Rights”
  20.  Business Software Alliance [Video] – Pertains to Microsoft, Adobe and Autodesk Software Audits (and other companies).  These are brought as copyright infringement investigations.
  21. CARP [Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel]
  22.  Cease and Desist Letter (a letter informing you that you or your company has infringed a copyright of another and to STOP doing it.  Sometimes monetary and other demands are made as well).
  23.  Certificate of Registration
  24. Certification
  25. Choreographic Works
  26. Circulars
  27. Claim
  28. Claimant
  29. Collective Work
  30. Compilation
  31.  Compulsory License (Aka “Statutory license”) (Aka “Compulsory mechanical license”)
  32. Computer Programs (“A ‘computer program' is a set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result.” 17 U.S.C. § 101.)
  33. Co-Ownership
  34.  Copying
  35.  Copyleft (an arrangement whereby software or artistic work may be used, modified, and distributed freely on condition that anything derived from it is bound by the same condition.Copyright Act of 1976)
  36. Copyrightable
  37. Copyright Card Catalog
  38. Copyright Claimant
  39. Copyright Damages [Video]
  40.  Copyright Defenses [Video]
  41. Copyright Image
  42. Copyright Logo
  43. Copyright Owner (proprietor)
  44. Copyright Music [Circular 56a]
  45. Copyrighting Names
  46.  Copyright Notice
  47.  Copyright Search
  48.  Copyright Strike (youtube)
  49.  Copyright Symbol
  50. Copywrite (common misspelling)
  51.  Copywrite.gov (common misspelling for US copyright office website Copyright.gov)
  52. Created
  53. Creative commons [Video]
  54. Criminal Copyright Law
  55. DART
  56. Database Protection
  57. Date of Recordation
  58. De Minimis
  59.  Deposit
  60. Deposit Account
  61. Deposit Copies
  62. Derivative Works
  63. Display
  64. DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act)
  65.  DMCA agent registration
  66. DMCA registered agent search tool
  67.  DMCA takedown notice
  68.  DMCA Anti-Circumvention (access controlled technology)
  69.  eCO
  70. EDR (Effective Date of Registration)
  71. Eligible Country
  72. eSearch
  73. eService
  74. Exclusive License
  75. Exclusive Rights
  76. Expedited
  77. Fair Use Defense [Video]
  78. Fair Use Disclaimer [Video]
  79. Fashion & Fabric Design [Star Fabric cases]  [Joanne Fabric cases]
  80.  Federal Court Exclusive Jurisdiction
  81.  Federal Register
  82.  
  83. Filing fees
  84. “Fixed in a Tangible Medium of Expression” (a creative work must be fixed to be protected)
  85. Foreign Work
  86. Forms
  87. GATT Registrations (Registrations that cover copyright claims in a work in which U.S. copyright was restored under the 1994 Uruguay Round Agreements Act).
  88. Graphic Works
  89. Group Registration
  90. How to Copyright a Name
  91. How to Search Copyrights Online [Video]
  92.  Houdini Copyright Trick
  93. Hull Design
  94. Identifying Material (aka “ID Material”)
  95. Infringement
  96. Innocent infringement
  97. Injunction
  98. International Copyright Law
  99. ISBN (International Standard Book Number)
  100. ISRC (International Standard Recording Code)
  101. ISSN (International Standard Serial Number)
  102. Jewelry Copyright (Jewelry such as creative bracelets, rings, and necklaces can be copyrighted and lead to infringement claims)
  103. Joint Work
  104. Kinkos (fair use summaries)
  105. License
  106. Licensing copyright
  107. Licensing Division (The Licensing Division in the U.S. Copyright Office administers certain statutory licenses set forth in the Copyright Act. The Division collects royalty payments and examines statements of account for the cable statutory license (17 U.S.C. § C OMPENDIUM OF U . S . COPYRIGHT OFFICE PRACTICES , Third Edition Glossary : 11 12/22/2014 111), the satellite statutory license for retransmission of distant television broadcast stations (17 U.S.C. § 119), and the statutory license for digital audio recording technology (17 U.S.C. chapter 10). The Division also accepts and records documents associated with the use of the mechanical statutory license (17 U.S.C. § 115). The Division deducts its full operating costs from the royalty fees and invests the balance in interest-bearing securities with the U.S. Treasury for later distribution to copyright owners. For further information see Circular 75,
  108. Limitation of Claim
  109. Linda Dash Poem
  110. LIT (Literary Division of US Copyright Office)
  111. Literary Works
  112. Lost Profits
  113. Malibu Media (this producer of the x-art adult porno movies has filed thousands of lawsuits for illegal movie downloads and sharing, brought as infringement claims in federal court).  Some people have referred to this as forcing a “shame settlement.”  We help clients defend these cases.
  114. Mandatory Deposit Copy
  115. Manufacturing Clause
  116. Mask Work
  117. Motion Pictures
  118. Musical Ringtones
  119. Music Infringement
  120. Non Exclusive License
  121. Office Portal
  122. Online Public Record
  123. PA (Performing Art Division of U.S. Copyright Office)
  124. Pantomime
  125. Parody (when you are using a copyrighted work to comment on it, or criticize it, this may be protected as fair use/first amendment)
  126. Peer-to-Peer (P2P Networking)
  127. Phonorecord
  128. Photo Infringement (infringement of a photo, image, gif, jpeg or other digital artwork, illustration or drawing can lead to a lawsuit in federal court).  We can bring and defend these claims.
  129. Pictoral, Graphic or Sculptural
  130. PIO (Public Information Office)
  131. Pro Licensing
  132. Preregistration
  133. Pseudonymous Work
  134. Publication
  135. Public Display
  136. Public Domain (this refers to works that are in the “public domain” and available to be used WITHOUT permission of the copyright holder.  This could be works of authorship “dedicated” to the public domain, or an “expired” copyright.  Click here to watch our video on the TOP 4 WEBSITES TO FIND PUBLIC DOMAIN PHOTOGRAPHS to use to build your YouTube channel legally.
  137.  Public Record
  138. Public Performance
  139. Publish
  140. Register of Copyrights
  141. Registration
  142. Registration Materials
  143. Renewal Claim
  144. Renewal Registration
  145. Request for Reconsideration
  146. Review Board
  147. RRCS
  148. Scenes a Faire
  149. Sculptural Works
  150. Secure test
  151. Semiconductor Chip Product
  152. Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984 (Semiconductor chips can be registered)
  153. Serials (Copyright Circular 62)
  154. Series of Musical, Spoken or Other Sounds
  155. Shipping Slip
  156. Software Audit (an investigation from a company like Autodesk, Microsoft, Adobe, CNC, Vero, Alphacam or the Software License that seeks to identify any unlicensed software and to seek infringement penalties and damages)
  157. Sound Recording
  158. Source Code
  159. Special Handling
  160. Statutory Damages
  161. Statutory License
  162. Striking Similarity
  163. Substantial Similarity
  164. Sui Generis
  165. Supplementary Registration
  166. Symbol
  167. [This deals will illegal downloads of music, movies, software or other digital content that can be shared on P2P networks.  Illegal file sharing can lead to warning notices from your ISP, cease and desist letters, or a federal court lawsuit from companies like ME2 Productions, London Has Fallen, and Malibu Media, a prolific filer of federal court lawsuits]
  168. Transfer of Ownership
  169. Transformative Works
  170. Unclaimable Material
  171. Unit of Publication
  172. United States Code – Title 17
  173. Unpublished Work
  174. Useful Article
  175. Utilitarian
  176. Vessel Design
  177. Video Infringement
  178. Visual Arts
  179. Willful Infringement (this can be anything from “turning a blind eye” allowing infringement in your company or organization, or worse, intentional piracy of content such as movies, software or music.  Click here to watch a VIDEO on this topic.
  180. WIPO
  181. Work for Hire Agreement
  182. Works of the Performing Arts
  183. Work of the United States Government
  184. Work of Visual Art

What are some of the major copyright related laws in the U.S.?

We can help your company navigate these complicated copyright issues:

Contact a Copyright Law Firm

We can help you with Copyright protection, registration, licensing, fair use analysis and opinion letters (becoming more important) parody, software audits, torrent defense and general copyright arbitration, mediation and litigation.  Call us for a free consultation at (877) 276-5084.

Contact us for an initial consultation!

For more information, or to discuss your case or our experience and qualifications please contact us at (877) 276-5084. Please note that our firm does not represent you unless and until a written retainer agreement is signed, and any applicable legal fees are paid. All initial conversations are general in nature. Free consultations are limited to time and availability of counsel and will depend on the type of case you are calling about (no free consultations for other lawyers). All users and potential clients are bound by our Terms of Use Policies. We look forward to working with you!
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