copyright

noun copy·right \ ˈkä-pē-ˌrīt \

|Updated on: 17 Aug 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

Much of this activity violates U.S. and international copyright law.

— joe karaganis, Washington Post, "Russia is building a new Napster — but for academic research," 13 July 2018
The Music Modernization Act, or MMA, updates copyright law for the digital age and is the result of unprecedented cooperation between the music industry and the streaming services that have upended how the business earns money.

— anne steele, WSJ, "Updated Music-Copyright Law Clears Senate Panel," 28 June 2018
The law benefited visual artists, who, unlike composers, filmmakers or writers, do not receive a share of any future sales under copyright law.

— amanda svachula, New York Times, "California Tried to Give Artists a Cut. But the Judges Said No.," 11 July 2018
Memes invariably re-purpose images or clips to create running jokes online, and often fall on the margins of copyright law.

— francis whittaker /, NBC News, "Joy for meme fans, despair for musicians as European lawmakers reject copyright changes," 5 July 2018
The members of the European Parliament have voted to reject a controversial overhaul of European copyright law that has been hailed by the creative industry, but condemned by social media companies and free speech advocates.

— scott roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, "European Parliament Rejects Controversial Copyright Law," 5 July 2018
Europe’s hugely controversial new copyright law has been stalled, after members of the European Parliament decided not to fast-track it to the next stage of the legislative process.

— david meyer, Fortune, "Not So Fast: Europe's Controversial New Copyright Law Was Just Held Up After an Intense Lobbying War," 5 July 2018
This is not the only copyright infringement suit the USPS has faced in recent years.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "How a “Sultry” Statue of Liberty Cost the U.S. Post Office More Than $3.5 Million," 3 July 2018
When a copyright lawsuit by Western publishers took down the Gigapedia in 2012, its collection was reassimilated into LibGen.

— joe karaganis, Washington Post, "Russia is building a new Napster — but for academic research," 13 July 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

Take the topic out of the hands of coaches and athletic departments because both groups have shown themselves unable to shake the idea that the information is copyrighted.

— paul myerberg, USA TODAY, "It's time for college football, NCAA to embrace injury reports with gambling influence rising," 3 July 2018
The Capitals will face the Vegas Golden Knights, a nightmare opponent for a franchise that has copyrighted excruciating losses.

— steve rosenbloom, chicagotribune.com, "Capitals are the perfect team for Cubs fans until their baseball club stops stinking," 24 May 2018
The song had actually been copyrighted in 1935 and Abner Silver, Al Lewis, and Al Sherman were credited as the authors.

— emily sweeney, BostonGlobe.com, "They finally got Al Capone for tax evasion. But what about plagiarism?," 15 May 2018
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

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.

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