copyright
1 of 3noun
copy·right ˈkä-pē-ˌrīt 
: 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.
copyright
2 of 3verb
copyrighted; copyrighting; copyrights
transitive verb
: to secure a copyright on
He has copyrighted all of his plays.
copyrightable
ˈkä-pē-ˌrī-tə-bəl
adjective copyright
3 of 3adjective
: secured by copyright
copyright songs
Example Sentences
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
Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2022 Through this new deal, Reach has purchased Chuck’s copyright ownership interests that were previously administered by Reach, including the full songwriter’s share, which Reach will continue to administer worldwide. Jem Aswad, Variety, 13 Sep. 2022 In 2003, Montgomery and Gilligan took over the Choose Your Own Adventure copyright and launched their own publishing company, Chooseco, to give the books a second life. Leslie Jamison, The New Yorker, 12 Sep. 2022 Rather, some experts say, technology is just one layer in larger conversations about cultural appropriation, copyright and ownership. Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 11 Sep. 2022 One former homeowner revealed that only her original paintings were allowed to stay up, for copyright reasons. Janaya Wecker, Country Living, 9 Sep. 2022 This means Stable Diffusion can be used to create images that OpenAI currently blocks with DALL-E 2: propaganda, violent imagery, pornography, images that potentially violate corporate copyright, celebrity deepfakes, and more. Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 8 Sep. 2022 In Europe, a 2019 copyright directive gave publishers the right to negotiate payment from tech platforms for the use of their headlines and article summaries. Alexandra Bruell, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 However, after Yonay's death in 2012, his widow and son terminated the company's copyright to the work in 2018. Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 27 Aug. 2022 Ella Feldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Sep. 2022 Willys would eventually copyright the name, giving us Jeep. Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2022 When Billboard spoke to Knight for a cover story in 2020, the Atlanta native had begun his fight to copyright his moves in earnest. Nina Braca, Billboard, 8 Feb. 2022 Her attempts to copyright her perfect nose job will not do much to ensure that anybody can recall what Cassidy Carter’s perfect nose job actually looked like when the world is underwater, or on fire, or some combination of the two. Philippa Snow, The New Republic, 27 Sep. 2021 And because no one owned the rights — a decision was made early not to copyright the design — everyone was able to own the cause. Jason Sheeler, PEOPLE.com, 3 Sep. 2021 Baker, who passed away in 2017, did not copyright the flag and its use took off around the world. Sarah Prager, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 June 2021 The issues were with YouTube, because YouTube would copyright a lot of videos. Sandra Song, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2021 In 1898, Foster Brothers began to copyright and publish reproductions of paintings, drawings, miniatures and silhouettes — again, another way to sell their frames. Helaine Fendelman And Joe Rosson, Star Tribune, 8 Dec. 2020 Grrlscientist, Forbes, 14 Aug. 2022 Archivists attempting to preserve old video games have been locked in copyright battles with publishers for years. Jonathan Lee, Washington Post, 13 July 2022 Unless otherwise stated, all material hosted by Forbes on this Forbes website is copyright © GrrlScientist. Grrlscientist, Forbes, 11 July 2022 Masihzadeh's copyright claim will now go on to court, but the judge's initial ruling can still be challenged in the appellate court, per legal proceedings in Iran. Nick Romano, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2022 Ashli Weiss, a Silicon Valley lawyer who has published a guide for how to send copyright notices to NFT marketplaces, said the burden on artists is exacerbated by the fact that many NFT thieves appear to be automated bots. NBC News, 10 Jan. 2022 Sony confirmed the authenticity of some of those still images when its legal team issued copyright notices and demanded they be taken down. Chris Smith, BGR, 9 Dec. 2021 Moish Peltz, an intellectual property lawyer who specializes in blockchain, crypto and NFTs, said the digital tokens could pose unique tests for how copyright principles apply in cases with extenuating circumstances. Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2022 Families of shooting victims have frequently relied on copyright law to get results. Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2022 See More
Noun
The company has also purchased 50 percent of Chuck’s copyright interest in the publisher’s share (Chuck will hold on to the other half). Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2022 Through this new deal, Reach has purchased Chuck’s copyright ownership interests that were previously administered by Reach, including the full songwriter’s share, which Reach will continue to administer worldwide. Jem Aswad, Variety, 13 Sep. 2022 In 2003, Montgomery and Gilligan took over the Choose Your Own Adventure copyright and launched their own publishing company, Chooseco, to give the books a second life. Leslie Jamison, The New Yorker, 12 Sep. 2022 Rather, some experts say, technology is just one layer in larger conversations about cultural appropriation, copyright and ownership. Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 11 Sep. 2022 One former homeowner revealed that only her original paintings were allowed to stay up, for copyright reasons. Janaya Wecker, Country Living, 9 Sep. 2022 This means Stable Diffusion can be used to create images that OpenAI currently blocks with DALL-E 2: propaganda, violent imagery, pornography, images that potentially violate corporate copyright, celebrity deepfakes, and more. Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 8 Sep. 2022 In Europe, a 2019 copyright directive gave publishers the right to negotiate payment from tech platforms for the use of their headlines and article summaries. Alexandra Bruell, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 However, after Yonay's death in 2012, his widow and son terminated the company's copyright to the work in 2018. Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 27 Aug. 2022 Verb
The package, notarized by a Harry Lichtiger, was presumably an effort by Reed to copyright his songs. Ella Feldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Sep. 2022 Willys would eventually copyright the name, giving us Jeep. Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2022 When Billboard spoke to Knight for a cover story in 2020, the Atlanta native had begun his fight to copyright his moves in earnest. Nina Braca, Billboard, 8 Feb. 2022 Her attempts to copyright her perfect nose job will not do much to ensure that anybody can recall what Cassidy Carter’s perfect nose job actually looked like when the world is underwater, or on fire, or some combination of the two. Philippa Snow, The New Republic, 27 Sep. 2021 And because no one owned the rights — a decision was made early not to copyright the design — everyone was able to own the cause. Jason Sheeler, PEOPLE.com, 3 Sep. 2021 Baker, who passed away in 2017, did not copyright the flag and its use took off around the world. Sarah Prager, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 June 2021 The issues were with YouTube, because YouTube would copyright a lot of videos. Sandra Song, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2021 In 1898, Foster Brothers began to copyright and publish reproductions of paintings, drawings, miniatures and silhouettes — again, another way to sell their frames. Helaine Fendelman And Joe Rosson, Star Tribune, 8 Dec. 2020 Adjective
Unless otherwise stated, all material hosted by Forbes on this Forbes website is copyright © GrrlScientist. Grrlscientist, Forbes, 14 Aug. 2022 Archivists attempting to preserve old video games have been locked in copyright battles with publishers for years. Jonathan Lee, Washington Post, 13 July 2022 Unless otherwise stated, all material hosted by Forbes on this Forbes website is copyright © GrrlScientist. Grrlscientist, Forbes, 11 July 2022 Masihzadeh's copyright claim will now go on to court, but the judge's initial ruling can still be challenged in the appellate court, per legal proceedings in Iran. Nick Romano, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2022 Ashli Weiss, a Silicon Valley lawyer who has published a guide for how to send copyright notices to NFT marketplaces, said the burden on artists is exacerbated by the fact that many NFT thieves appear to be automated bots. NBC News, 10 Jan. 2022 Sony confirmed the authenticity of some of those still images when its legal team issued copyright notices and demanded they be taken down. Chris Smith, BGR, 9 Dec. 2021 Moish Peltz, an intellectual property lawyer who specializes in blockchain, crypto and NFTs, said the digital tokens could pose unique tests for how copyright principles apply in cases with extenuating circumstances. Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2022 Families of shooting victims have frequently relied on copyright law to get results. Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
Noun
1735, in the meaning defined above
Verb
circa 1806, in the meaning defined above
Adjective
1870, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
copyright 1 of 2
noun
copy·right ˈkä-pē-ˌrīt
: the legal right to be the only one to reproduce, publish, and sell the contents and form of a literary or artistic work
copyright
2 of 2verb
copyrighted; copyrighting
: to get a copyright on
Legal Definition
copyright 1 of 2
noun
copy·right ˈkä-pē-ˌrīt
: 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.
copyright
2 of 2transitive verb
: to secure a copyright on
copyright
noun
as in patent
the legal right to be the only one to reproduce, publish, and sell a book, musical recording, etc., for a certain period of time His family still holds the copyright to his songs. laws that protect copyrights Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- patent
- trademark
- label
- logo
- brand
- stamp
- trade name
- brand name
- emblem
- imprint
- hallmark
- service mark
- mark
- collective mark