copyright

noun copy·right \ ˈkä-pē-ˌrīt \

|Updated on: 9 Jun 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

All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call.

— Fox News, "Roseanne critics target Trump," 4 June 2018
Brzezinski is responsible for obtaining the copyrights and clearances needed to show the films.

— katie v. jones, Howard County Times, "Movies and the stars," 4 June 2018
By Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, copyright 2018, Crown Publishing Group division of Penguin Random House, 312 pp.

— david hawpe, The Courier-Journal, "Book review: There's more political warfare and polarization in Trump's future," 4 June 2018
Currently, federal copyright law does not protect sound recordings made before Feb. 15, 1972.

— drew broach, NOLA.com, "Smokey Robinson seconds emotion of John Kennedy's copyright legislation," 15 May 2018
In 1672, the first copyright law in the American colonies was enacted in Massachusetts.

— BostonGlobe.com, "This day in history," 14 May 2018
As the authors note, blockchain could do to securities law what the Internet did to copyright law.

— jeff john roberts, Fortune, "The Law of Blockchain: Beyond Government Control?," 10 May 2018
Even a contract template of Express Scripts, among the largest PBMs, with a plan sponsor was removed from the website of media organization Axios after the company complained of copyright infringement.

— sarah gantz, Philly.com, "Drug price 'gag clauses' make your medicine more expensive. Now, they're under fire nationally," 16 May 2018
Amazingly, though Wells and McDonough played full tracks instead of samples on their podcast, no one came after them for copyright infringement.

— aimee levitt, Chicago Reader, "Archive Dive / Media / Music Remember when you had to explain what a podcast was?," 11 May 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

copyrighted; copyrighting; copyrights

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

Ata is a troll, with a history of customer abuse, publishing copyrighted material, and user review manipulation.

— chris morris, Fortune, "'Active Shooter' Video Game Pulled From Distribution—But Not Because of Its Theme," 30 May 2018
But the artist failed to adequately copyright it and so missed out on the huge royalties that may have been due him.

— will higgins, Indianapolis Star, "We love pop artist Robert Indiana, even if he didn't always love us," 22 May 2018
The court ruled that some of the characters the author created were developed enough to be copyrighted, while others were not.

— louise matsakis, WIRED, "Did YouTube Phenomenon Poppy Steal Her Style From Another Star?," 9 May 2018
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

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

That court upheld a lower court's previous ruling, which said, basically, that animals can't file copyright infringement suits.

— susannah cullinane, CNN, "Monkey does not own selfie copyright, appeals court rules," 24 Apr. 2018
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.

—

copyright

adjective

copyright

transitive verb

legal Definition of copyright

: to secure a copyright on

—

copyrightability

\ˌkä-pē-ˌrī-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

—

copyrightable

play \ˈkä-pē-ˌrī-tə-bəl\ adjective

Learn More about copyright

See words that rhyme with copyright Spanish Central: Translation of copyright Nglish: Translation of copyright for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of copyright for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about copyright

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copyright

Definition of copyright

Examples of copyright in a Sentence

Recent Examples of copyright from the Web

First Known Use of copyright

Other Publishing Terms

copyright

Definition of copyright

copyrightable

Examples of copyright in a Sentence

Recent Examples of copyright from the Web

First Known Use of copyright

Other Publishing Terms

copyright

Definition of copyright

Examples of copyright in a Sentence

Recent Examples of copyright from the Web

First Known Use of copyright

Other Publishing Terms

COPYRIGHT Defined for English Language Learners

copyright

Definition of copyright for English Language Learners

copyright

Definition of copyright for English Language Learners

copyright

Definition of copyright for English Language Learners

COPYRIGHT Defined for Kids

copyright

Definition of copyright for Students

copyright

Definition of copyright for Students

Law Dictionary

copyright

legal Definition of copyright

copyright

copyright

legal Definition of copyright

copyrightability

copyrightable

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