Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) to authors. The owner of copyright has the exclusive right to do and authorize the following:
Copyright protection covers both published and unpublished works as well as out-of-print materials.
Facts, ideas, procedures, processes, systems, concepts, principles or discoveries cannot be copyrighted. However, some of these can be protected by patent or trade secret laws.
Copyright protection currently lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. If there is more than one author copyright protection lasts for the life of the last author's death plus 70 years.
Copyright Basics, from the U.S. Copyright Office, provides an excellent overview of the copyright law and procedures.
The Western Nevada College Copyright Policy. "It shall be the policy of Western Nevada College to observe and adhere to the provisions set forth in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, and any subsequent revisions or additions, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Technology, Education, and the Copyright Harmonization (TEACH ) Act that impact the reproduction of copyrighted materials for educational purposes. It shall also be the policy of Western Nevada College to observe and adhere to the provisions of the Higher Education Act of 2008 that prohibit the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials through illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property."
The guide does not supply legal advice nor is it intended to replace the advice of legal counsel.
The information on this subject guide was adapted from the McGoonan Library of Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.