Copyright Law: A Complete Overview

38 questions on copyright law, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Can a database or factual compilation be copyrighted?
• Can VARA rights be sold or waived?
• How does Baker v. Selden apply to recipes, game rules, and software?
• How does copyright fit alongside trademark, patent, and trade secret?
• How does one song move through the whole copyright system?
• How do the DMCA safe harbors work?
• How do you determine whether a pre-1978 work is still protected?
• How is a collective work different from a joint work?
• How is copyright infringement proved?
• How long does copyright last?
• Is there such a thing as an international copyright?
• Must the author of a copyrighted work be human?
• What are moral rights, and what does VARA protect?
• What are the four fair use factors?
• What are the six exclusive rights in a copyright?
• What are the three threshold requirements for copyright protection?
• What are the two paths to a work made for hire?
• What categories of works does copyright protect?
• What did Feist decide about originality?
• What did Google v. Oracle hold about fair use?
• What did Warhol v. Goldsmith change about transformative use?
• What does Section 412 require for statutory damages and attorney's fees?
• What else falls outside copyright protection?
• What evidentiary value does a copyright registration have?
• What formalities apply to transferring a copyright?
• What is DMCA Section 1201 anti-circumvention?
• What is joint authorship, and what can one joint author do without the others?
• What is the copyright termination right, and why can't it be waived?
• What is the first sale doctrine, and what other limits apply to the exclusive rights?
• What is the idea-expression dichotomy?
• What remedies are available for copyright infringement?
• Where does U.S. copyright law come from?
• Which institutions administer and interpret U.S. copyright law?
• Who besides the direct copier can be liable for infringement?
• Who owns a copyright by default?
• Why do work-for-hire clauses in freelance contracts so often fail?
• Why is copyright registration essential if protection is automatic?
• Why should a copyright transfer be recorded with the Copyright Office?