copyright

[ kop-ee-rahyt ]

noun

1. the exclusive right none to make copies none, license, and otherwise exploit a literary, musical, or artistic work, whether printed, audio, video, etc.: works granted such right none by law on or after January 1, 1978, are protected for the lifetime of an author or creator and for a period of 70 years after their death.

adjective

1. of or relating to copyrights.
2. Also copy·righted. protected by copyright.

verb (used with object)

1. to secure a copyright on.

©

¹

symbol for

1. copyright

copyright

²

/ ˈkɒpɪˌraɪt /

noun

1. the exclusive right to produce copies and to control an original literary, musical, or artistic work, granted by law for a specified number of years (in Britain, usually 70 years from the death of the author, composer, etc, or from the date of publication if later) (c)

adjective

1. (of a work, etc) subject to or controlled by copyright

verb

1. tr to take out a copyright on

copyright

¹

1. A grant of an exclusive right to produce or sell a book, motion picture, work of art, musical composition, software , or similar product during a specified period of time.

copyright

²

1. The legal protection given to published works, forbidding anyone but the author from publishing or selling them. An author can transfer the copyright to another person or corporation, such as a publishing company.

Notes

The symbol (see also symbol ) for copyright is ©.

Derived Forms

• ˈcopyˌrighter, noun
• ˈcopyˌrightable, adjective

Other Words From

• copy·righta·ble adjective
• copy·righter noun
• un·copy·righted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of copyright¹

First recorded in 1725–35; copy none + right none

Example Sentences

“This is a big win — and we’ll be celebrating with ice cream! — but copyright law still needs fixing before we’re free to fix everything we own.”

From Salon

Added to this are the uncertainties around copyright legislation written for a pre-AI era which will need to be renegotiated.

From BBC

She undermined the basic argument that content creators have made against AI firms: that the process of feeding their AI models data indiscriminately “scraped” from the internet inevitably involves using copyrighted content without permission.

From Los Angeles Times

He said Edge's sentence should "serve as a further warning how seriously such copyright theft continues to be taken".

From BBC

According to a filing reported by USA Today, the pair, Jack and Meg White, dismissed their copyright infringement lawsuit against Trump.

From Salon

Related Words

• absorb
• exclude
• possess
• take over
• utilize