Who Holds Copyright?

Albert W. Starkweather, Philatelic Communicator

Author’s note: This is intended as an overview to this area and does not constitute legal advice. Writers and editors with specific questions about fair use and copyright should seek legal advice.

In the case of works for hire, the employer and not the employee is considered to be the author if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire. A work for hire is one prepared by an employee within the scope of employment or one specially ordered or commissioned.

The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright in the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary. Copyright in each separate contribution to a periodical or other collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole and vests initially with the author of the contribution.

Several types of material are not eligible for copyright protection, including those that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression; titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents; ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration; and works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship, such as a standard calendar.

Publication no longer is the key to obtaining federal copyright as it was under the Copyright Act of 1909. However, publication remains important to copyright owners for several reasons, including:

• Works published in the United States are subject to mandatory deposit with the Library of Congress.
• Publication of a work can affect the limitations on the exclusive rights of the copyright owner.
• The year of publication may determine the duration of copyright protection for anonymous and pseudonymous works.

The use of the copyright notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner and does not require advance permission from, or registration with, the U.S. Copyright Office (www.copyright.gov). The notice for visually perceptible copies should contain three elements:

• The symbol ©, or the word Copyright, or the abbreviation Copr., followed by:
• The year of first publication of the work. The year date may be omitted where a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, with accompanying textual matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or any useful article.
• The name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.

The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under U.S. law, although it is often beneficial. (Also see article on trademarks.)