copyright

noun copy·right \ ˈkä-pē-ˌrīt \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of copyright

: the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something (such as a literary, musical, or artistic work)

His family still holds the copyright to his songs.

See copyright defined for English-language learners

See copyright defined for kids

Examples of copyright in a Sentence

His family still holds the copyright to his songs.
The book is under copyright.

Recent Examples of copyright from the Web

Discussions will address numerous subjects related to the business aspects of songwriting such as licensing, copyrights, co-writing and publishing.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Windham Edition," 10 Apr. 2018
On Monday, James and his Uninterrupted platform sent Alabama a letter accusing the football program of copyright infringement.

— tim bielik, cleveland.com, "Nick Saban and LeBron James digging in on battle over potential copyright infringement: Buckeye Breakfast," 4 Apr. 2018
The streaming service has been hit with copyright infringement lawsuits, including one for $150 million in 2015 and another for $1.6 billion earlier this year.

— lisa marie segarra, Fortune, "'We're in the Early Days.' Spotify's CEO Is Talking About His Company's Unusual Non-IPO IPO," 3 Apr. 2018
Since 2011, we have been filtering certain terms closely associated with copyright infringement from Google Autocomplete.

— dani deahl, The Verge, "Google removes ‘Kodi’ from search autocomplete in anti-piracy effort," 29 Mar. 2018
Two weeks ago, in a Georgia court, Jordan Outdoor Enterprises Ltd. (the parent company of Realtree camo) filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit against Mr. West’s Yeezy Apparel LLC fashion label.

— jacob gallagher, WSJ, "Why Does Kanye West Dress Like a Construction Worker?," 27 Mar. 2018
That report said trademark infringement was the most common form of IP violation in China, but copyright infringement was the most damaging.

— Bloomberg.com, "What’s Intellectual Property and Does China Steal It?," 22 Mar. 2018
The suit alleges copyright infringement and unfair and deceptive commercial practices.

— howard cohen and arturo arias-polo, miamiherald, "She says she helped write a Julio Iglesias hit 40 years ago. Now, she wants her money. | Miami Herald," 27 Mar. 2018
In the last few years, it’s sued a number of companies, including Home Depot, Costco and RTIC, for alleged copyright infringement.

— ariella gintzler, Outside Online, "Yeti Coolers Withdraws Its IPO," 27 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'copyright.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of copyright

1735

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Publishing Terms

annotate, dreadful, emend, expurgate, factoid, jump, lobster shift, redaction, referee

copyright

verb

Definition of copyright

transitive verb

: to secure a copyright on

He has copyrighted all of his plays.

—

copyrightable

play \ˈkä-pē-ˌrī-tə-bəl\ adjective

See copyright defined for English-language learners

Examples of copyright in a Sentence

He has copyrighted all of his plays.

Recent Examples of copyright from the Web

Not accepting children's plays, musicals, adaptations of copyrighted material, or translation.

— mark rapp, cleveland.com, "Cleveland theater's auditions for March 16 and Beyond: Chagrin Valley Little Theatre seeking directors for 2018-19 Season & More," 16 Mar. 2018
But copyrighted material, including video streaming platforms, computer games and e-books, are exempt, a decision Europe's primary consumer rights organizations has sharply criticized.

— deutsche welle, USA TODAY, "Netflix, other streaming services, escape new European Union geoblocking ban," 7 Feb. 2018
Rentmeester can't copyright the pose of the athlete, the court said.

— maxine bernstein, OregonLive.com, "Nike defeats appeal over iconic Michael Jordan photo, "Jumpman" logo," 1 Mar. 2018
It was copyrighted in Japan by a company called Paimore Co. and uses the hair's natural wave.

— alyssa hardy, Teen Vogue, "Emma Stone Gets a Perm With Her Makeup Artist Rachel Goodwin," 1 Feb. 2018
The first part of the Restatement, which is being considered now, deals mostly with abstract issues -- what can be copyrighted and so on.

— robert levine, Billboard, "Acting U.S. Register of Copyrights Sounds Alarm Over Legal Group's 'Pseudo-Version of the Copyright Act'," 18 Jan. 2018
Tye said Edelman's disclosures were lawful because photos taken by government officials are in the public domain and cannot be copyrighted.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Energy Department photographer seeks whistleblower protection," 18 Jan. 2018
As part of the deal, Mixcloud will use Gracenote's MusicID system to help identify and properly catalog copyrighted content contained in the streaming service's growing database of tracks.

— billboard staff, Billboard, "Gracenote Partners With Mixcloud to Help Creators Get ID'd, Paid," 20 Dec. 2017
Can digital rights management technology stop the unauthorized spread of copyrighted content?

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "How four Microsoft engineers proved that the “darknet” would defeat DRM," 24 Nov. 2017

First Known Use of copyright

circa 1806

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Publishing Terms

annotate, dreadful, emend, expurgate, factoid, jump, lobster shift, redaction, referee

copyright

adjective

Definition of copyright

: secured by copyright

See copyright defined for English-language learners

Examples of copyright in a Sentence

The copyright date is 2005.

Recent Examples of copyright from the Web

If restricting resale of Frozen download codes is copyright misuse, that doesn't just mean that Redbox can re-sell download codes.

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "How a fight over Star Wars download codes could reshape copyright law," 23 Feb. 2018
Energy Intelligence Group alleges that forwarding copies of its publications violates copyright laws.

— l.m. sixel, Houston Chronicle, "Houston jury awards energy publisher $585,000 for copyright violations," 8 Dec. 2017
Previously, Google had only removed webpages with identifying financial information, such as credit card numbers, and with content that violates copyright laws.

— bloomberg news, NOLA.com, "Google to remove private medical records from search results," 24 June 2017
With Ivan Pereira and Alison Fox ——— ©2017 Newsday _____ Copyright 2017 Tribune Content Agency.

— rachelle blidner and laura figueroa, Jewish Journal, "NATIONAL: Celebrate Israel parade steps off in Manhattan on Sunday," 5 June 2017

First Known Use of copyright

1870

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Publishing Terms

annotate, dreadful, emend, expurgate, factoid, jump, lobster shift, redaction, referee

COPYRIGHT Defined for English Language Learners

copyright

noun

Definition of copyright for English Language Learners

: the legal right to be the only one to reproduce, publish, and sell a book, musical recording, etc., for a certain period of time

copyright

verb

Definition of copyright for English Language Learners

: to get a copyright for a book, musical recording, etc., for a certain period of time

copyright

adjective

Definition of copyright for English Language Learners

: of or relating to a copyright
: not allowed to be copied without permission from the author, composer, etc.

COPYRIGHT Defined for Kids

copyright

noun copy·right \ ˈkä-pē-ˌrīt \

Definition of copyright for Students

: the legal right to be the only one to reproduce, publish, and sell the contents and form of a literary or artistic work

copyright

verb

Definition of copyright for Students

copyrighted; copyrighting

: to get a copyright on

Law Dictionary

copyright

noun copy·right \ ˈkä-pē-ˌrīt \

legal Definition of copyright

: a person's exclusive right to reproduce, publish, or sell his or her original work of authorship (as a literary, musical, dramatic, artistic, or architectural work) — see also common-law copyright, fair use at use 2, infringe, intellectual property at property, international copyright, original, public domain — compare patent, trademark

Note: Copyrights are governed by the Copyright Act of 1976 contained in title 17 of the U.S. Code. The Act protects published or unpublished works that are fixed in a tangible medium of expression from which they can be perceived. The Act does not protect matters such as an idea, process, system, or discovery. Protection under the Act extends for the life of the creator of the work plus seventy years after his or her death. For works created before January 1, 1978, but not copyrighted or in the public domain, the copyright starts on January 1, 1978, and extends for the same period as for other works, but in any case will not expire before December 31, 2002. If a work is published on or before December 31, 2002, the copyright will not expire before December 31, 2047. The Act abolishes protection under common law, as well as any rights available under state statute, in favor of the rights available under the provisions of the Act, with certain exceptions.

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