In the US, copyright protection is governed by Title 17 of the US Code and applies to literary works, visual art, dance, musical compositions, radio and television broadcasts, software, and other types of intellectual property.

1. Work must be eligible for copyright protection
2. Work must be original
3. Work must be "fixed" - i.e. written down, or recorded
4. There is no filing requirement
5. Since 1978 in the US: no need to place a copyright notice on the work
6. Copyright automatically created when an original work is generated (proving authorship however, is different)
7. Post 1978: Works protected for the author's life, plus 70 years

1. Copyright protection gives the author a number of exclusive rights to the work:

• • To produce copies
  • To sell copies
  • To import or export the work
  • To create derivative works, by adapting the original work
  • To perform, transmit, or display the work
  • To sell or assign these rights

1. "Fair Use Doctrine" - the ability to quote short passages of a work for non-commercial use
2. Actual Fair Use wording in the statute is not very specific
3. Fair use factors:

• • Purpose, character of the use
  • Nature of the copyrighted work
  • Amount and percentage of the work that was used
  • Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the work