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Copyright Basics

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What is Copyright?

2:08 with Wilt Chaimberlain

You've heard the word copyright before, but what does it mean? And once you've copyrighted something, how long does it last? Let's find out!

If you're not in the United States, you can look up your country on this list to find out how long copyright protection lasts where you live.

And here is a full list of over 160 countries where almost all of the information in this series is applicable.

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    So what is copyright anyway? 0:00
    Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States 0:02
    (title 17, US Code) to the authors of "original works of authorship." 0:06
    Copyright allows you or anyone else 0:11
    to create a creative work and call it yours. 0:14
    You decide what you do with it, if you share it, if you sell it, 0:17
    if you never let anyone see it ever. 0:20
    It's totally up to you. 0:22
    Now I mention the United States, 0:23
    and the stuff we're going to talk about is very much US based. 0:26
    But thanks to a pair of treaties signed by over 160 countries, 0:29
    much of the matieral we're going to cover is going to apply where you live. 0:34
    So how long does copyright actually last? 0:37
    In the United States currently, a copyright lasts for the entire life of the author plus 70 years. 0:41
    So 70 years after I die, stuff I make will fall into the public domain. 0:48
    That means anybody can take it, publish it, add to it, sell it, whatever. 0:53
    As long as I'm alive, and even for 70 years after that, 0:58
    it still belongs to me. 1:01
    Now that's for stuff that you create for yourself. 1:03
    If a company hires you to make a website, for example, 1:06
    the company is going to be the one who owns the copyright to that site. 1:10
    And that's pretty normal. 1:14
    Now the copyright length on that website, 1:16
    because it was a work for hire, 1:18
    is actually going to be 95 years after it's released, 1:20
    or 120 years after it was originally created, whichever of those comes first. 1:23
    Though I don't know if you can imagine creating a website and then waiting 25 years to actually make it public. 1:30
    The point is if you're creating a work for hire, 1:35
    if someon's paying you to create something they will control the copyright for, 1:39
    that copyright's valid for a straight 95 years 1:43
    or 120 years depending on when it's first released. 1:47
    The life plus 70 copyright term is widely used around the world, 1:50
    although life plus 50 is also pretty common as well. 1:55
    If you're wondering about your specific country, 1:58
    check the teacher notes below, but ultimately, 2:01
    as long as you're alive, what else matters? Your work is copyrighted. 2:04

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