For copyright, author rights, and Creative Commons questions, please contact the University Libraries Data and Publishing Services team.
There are four types of legal instruments to protect intellectual property: trade secret, trademark, patent, and copyright. Copyright is a form of legal protection granted by U.S. law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which protects the copyright holder's exclusive right to copy, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, and make derivatives of original works.
As you create or publish materials for research and teaching, it's important to understand copyright. Managing your copyright effectively and using other people's copyrighted work are important parts of research, publishing, and teaching.
In the United States, copyright protects “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.” A work in fixed form does not need to be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office or marked with the symbol © or the word “Copyright” to be copyright protected.
This includes: literature, music, dramatic performances, choreography and dance, pictures, and graphics, sculptures, audiovisual works, architectural works, software and other creative outputs in fixed, tangible medium.
Under U.S. Copyright Law, the author of an original work in fixed form owns the copyright to the work unless the author was hired to create the work, in which case copyright is owned by the employer. The Intellectual Property Policy of Carnegie Mellon University explains who owns the intellectual property created by faculty, students, and staff in their relationship with Carnegie Mellon.
If you are reusing copyrighted content and it does not fall under Fair Use, then you'll need to get permission. This includes permission to use your own previously published work if you transferred your copyright to a publisher. Some high-level notes on this process:
Intellectual Property Policy
Describes who owns what intellectual property created at Carnegie Mellon University.
Fair Use Policy
Describes legal limitations and exceptions to the copyright owner’s exclusive rights, most notably fair use. The Appendix provides guidance on conducting a fair use analysis to determine if a proposed use qualifies as a fair use.
Computing Policy
Campus affiliates should be aware that a Computing Policy and numerous guidelines govern the use of computing resources on campus.
File Sharing and Digital Copyright
Information from the Information Security Office (ISO) about Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing, digital copyrights, and takedown notices.
Digital Copyright and DMCA Takedown Notices
Information from the Information Security Office (ISO) specifically addressing DMCA takedown notices.
Copyright Violation Guidelines
Guidelines that apply to all campus affiliates. This includes students, faculty and staff members as well as guest account holders.
CMU Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation
CTTEC assists researchers with moving their ideas from the university to the marketplace
CMU Office of Research Integrity and Compliance
The Office of Research Integrity and Compliance offers a number of helpful resources on research ethics and responsible conduct of research. This is also the home of the CMU Institutional Review Board
CMU Office of Sponsored Programs
The Office of Sponsored Programs negotiates intellectual property provisions in sponsored awards made to CMU