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Copyright: Getting Started

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There are a number of factors that should always be taken into account when it comes to utilizing the many types of materials available to the Quinnipiac University community.  

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First, determine if you are dealing with a copyrighted work.

Is the work in the public domain? Generally works created prior to 1923 are in the public domain and are free to use.  

If the work is copyrighted, then you need to determine the following:

Is the work licensed by the University, in which case the copyright is covered for you?

  • Check to see if the material is available in one the Library's databases or other electronic resources. 
  • Check to see if the copyrighted resource grants licensed permission for instructional use.
  • If licensed and instructional uses are permitted by that license, proceed as the license permits.


If the work is not in the public domain or licensed for use, is there a legal exemption to copyright law that would allow you to use the work?

Examples:

 If the work you wish to use is not licensed or covered by an exemption, you may run a Fair Use analysis.

If none of the above allows you to use a copyrighted work in its entirety, then you may still use portions of a work (up to 10%.)

 

Public Domain

A work in the public domain is not protected by copyright. You are free to copy the entire work. In the United States, works published before 1923 are in the public domain.

 

FAQs

Are government documents in the public domain?

The majority of documents published by the federal government are in the public domain. There are some exceptions. The federal government outsources some of its research and publications to private publishers. Those works may be copyrighted. Check the specific document.

Also many state and county publications may be copyrighted; they are not necessarily in the public domain.

 

How do I know if a work after 1923 is in the public domain?

This is a difficult question with no quick answer. The copyright for some works published prior to the 1976 law may not have been renewed. This chart from Cornell shows the changes in copyright terms from 1923 forward. The Copyright Office maintains a database of copyright registrations back to 1978. The Copyright Office also publishes a circular How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work. Prior to 1978, the Copyright Office can do a manual search of it records for a fee.

A work can also be an "orphan work" meaning that it may still be under copyright, yet no rightsholder can be found.