Copyright

Under 17 U.S.C. §102, copyright protects original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. This includes:

• Literature (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc.)
• Music and lyrics
• Dramatic works
• Dance and choreography
• Artwork, photography, and sculpture
• Motion pictures and audiovisual works
• Sound recordings
• Architectural designs
• Computer software and code

💡 Tip: Copyright protection begins automatically when a qualifying work is created. You don’t need to register it to be protected, but registration offers additional legal benefits.

Even if a work is expressed in writing or another medium, copyright does not extend to:

• Ideas, concepts, or principles
• Methods, procedures, or systems
• Discoveries or factual information
• Titles, slogans, or short phrases
• Common property materials (e.g., calendars, formulas, or standard measurements)

“In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.”
— U.S. Copyright Law, Title 17, §102(b)

💡 Tip: If you're using facts or ideas from a source, you're not infringing copyright—but how those ideas are expressed (such as in a specific paragraph or illustration) is protected.

Want to know how your own work is protected? Faculty intellectual property rights are shaped by both federal law and college policy.

💡 Tip: NWACC follows guidelines from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) when addressing faculty ownership of scholarly work.