At UCLA Extension, intellectual property (IP) and copyright are key considerations when developing a course. To build familiarity with copyright law terms and definitions, click each tab below.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind—creative works and ideas expressed in a form that can be shared or recreated, emulated, or manufactured by others. There are four ways to protect intellectual property: patents, trademarks, copyrights, or trade secrets.
Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property rights are legal protections for creators of creative works and ideas, such as literary and artistic works, inventions, designs, multimedia files, documents, images, and more. They come in the form of copyright.
Copyright
Copyright protects works of authorship that have been expressed in tangible form, such as writings, music, and works of art. United States Copyright Law gives the creator of a work exclusive claim of ownership over their work. Copyright Law also gives the holder of the copyright exclusive rights to use and distribute their work however they choose.
Copyright Infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized use of works protected by a copyright. Unauthorized use can include distribution, duplication, performance, derivation (a creation that includes copyrightable elements of the original), or a combination thereof. Money does not need to exchange hands in order for a non-permitted use to be considered copyright infringement.
Fair Use
Fair Use is a legal doctrine in which brief excerpts of a work can be used for a limited purpose including teaching, scholarship, criticism, commentary, and research. Fair Use is a defense against a claim of copyright infringement.
The Doctrine of Fair Use (Section 107, Title 17 of the U.S. Code) describes four factors that determine whether the use of a copyrighted material can be considered fair use:
- The purpose of using the copyrighted work (commercial vs. educational)
- The amount used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole (sample vs. entire work)
- The nature of the copyrighted work (factual, creative, already published, etc.)
- The economic impact to the owner of the copyrighted work (taking money away from the owner's earning potential)
Fair Use is not always easily defined and each situation is unique.
"Derivative Work”
"Derivative work" is based on original work that is recast, transformed, or adapted. For example, a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or other similar forms that revise, annotate, elaborate, or modify an original work of authorship.
“Literary Works”
"Literary works" are expressed in words, numbers, or other verbal or numerical symbols or signs, regardless of the nature of the material objects. For example, "literary works" can be embodied in books, periodicals, manuscripts, phonorecords, film, tapes, disks, or cards.
“Audiovisual Works”
"Audiovisual works" consist of a series of related images that are intended to be shown by the use of machines or devices (projectors, viewers, or electronic equipment) together with accompanying sounds. "Audiovisual works" can be embodied in various material objects, such as films or tapes.
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that created a licensing framework that allows creators to proactively share their work with explicit permissions.
Open Educational Resources
OERs are learning resources developed with sharing in mind. They can range from discrete lesson plans to textbooks to video assets, all of which can be shared and reused.