copyright

noun

copy·right | \ ˈkä-pē-ˌrīt

Definition of copyright

(Entry 1 of 3)

: 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.

verb

copyrighted; copyrighting; copyrights

Definition of copyright (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

: to secure a copyright on He has copyrighted all of his plays.

adjective

Definition of copyright (Entry 3 of 3)

: secured by copyright copyright songs

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Examples of copyright in a Sentence

Noun

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

Verb

He has copyrighted all of his plays.

Adjective

The copyright date is 2005.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Fiesler proposes a system for scrutinizing database access that’s similar to copyright use. — Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic, "When Research Data Escapes the University," 27 June 2019 Cons: significant plagiarism, likely copyright violations with images. — Alison Griswold, Quartz, "We hired three Fiverr workers to write about Fiverr’s IPO," 18 June 2019 The purse is a perfect example of how trademark, which protects brand names and logos, and copyright, which protects designs, create value. — Ephrat Livni, Quartzy, "Every invention you use has one thing in common," 18 June 2019 Excerpt from How to Skimm Your Life by theSkimm, copyright © 2019 by theSkimm. — Carly Zakin And Danielle Weisberg, Marie Claire, "Tips for Writing a Resume That Will Get You the Job," 11 June 2019 Leonard alleged Nike filed a copyright application for his ‘Klaw’ logo without his consent. — Sarah Valenzuela, courant.com, "Kawhi Leonard is suing Nike," 4 June 2019 When Falkner sued for copyright infringement, the court came down against General Motors. — Daisy Alioto, The New Republic, "How Graffiti Became Gentrified," 19 June 2019 The publishers lobbied heavily for a new European Union-wide copyright law, passed in March, requiring that large internet platforms pay a license for content shared on services like Google News. — New York Times, "Anger at Big Tech Unites Noodle Pullers and Code Writers. Washington Is All Ears.," 10 June 2019 On Monday, Leonard filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Nike in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "Kawhi Leonard vs. Nike: Analyzing the Raptors' Star's Logo Lawsuit," 4 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Joseph Buckley, president of John E. Reid & Associates Inc. in Chicago, the company that copyrighted the Reid technique in the early 1960s, adds that Kassin's studies lack validity because they were not conducted using professional interrogators. — Douglas Starr, Science | AAAS, "This psychologist explains why people confess to crimes they didn’t commit," 13 June 2019 Government studies are not copyrighted and can be published by anyone. — Hillel Italie, The Seattle Times, "Publishers plan bound editions of Mueller report," 30 Mar. 2019 And for those who love the idea of building their own, just know these designs are copyrighted, although Pauly is looking for apprentices to pass on the legacy. — Ann Lien, House Beautiful, "You Could Own Your Own Fairy Tale Cottage," 17 Apr. 2019 The biggest question is whether a dance move can be copyrighted at all — a legal matter that has never been fully answered. — Nick Statt, The Verge, "Fortnite keeps stealing dances — and no one knows if it’s illegal," 20 Dec. 2018 Those were actual incidents—historical facts can’t be copyrighted. — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "Why the Law Appears to Favor Alabama in Budding Barbershop Battle With LeBron," 5 Apr. 2018 Specifically, nine set-top box distributors were referred to the FCC in October for enabling the unlawful streaming of copyrighted material, seven of which displayed the FCC logo, although there was no record of such compliance. — Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, "FCC Republican asks Amazon and eBay to boost crackdown on pirate TV boxes," 29 May 2018 Not accepting children's plays, musicals, adaptations of copyrighted material, or translation. — Mark Rapp, cleveland.com, "Cleveland theater's auditions for April 27 and Beyond: Ohio Shakespere Festival's 2018-19 Season & More," 27 Apr. 2018 This would require some platforms, like YouTube, to take steps to prevent users from uploading copyrighted content. — Robert Levine, Billboard, "What a Google Email to News Publications Means for the Music Business," 28 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Use of those mods constitutes copyright infringement and breach of the game's EULA, Epic argues, echoing lawsuits filed against Fortnite cheaters filed last year. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Fortnite, GTA V hackers face legal action for online cheating," 17 Oct. 2018 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

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.

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Dictionary Entries near copyright

Statistics for copyright

Last Updated

6 Jul 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for copyright

The first known use of copyright was in 1735

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More Definitions for copyright

noun

English Language Learners Definition of copyright

(Entry 1 of 3)

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

verb

English Language Learners Definition of copyright (Entry 2 of 3)

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

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of copyright (Entry 3 of 3)

: of or relating to a copyright

: not allowed to be copied without permission from the author, composer, etc.

See the full definition for copyright in the English Language Learners Dictionary

noun

copy·right | \ ˈkä-pē-ˌrīt

Kids Definition of copyright

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

verb

copyrighted; copyrighting

Kids Definition of copyright (Entry 2 of 2)

: to get a copyright on

noun

copy·right | \ ˈkä-pē-ˌrīt

Legal Definition of copyright

(Entry 1 of 2)

: 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 sense 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.