Also known as: diritto d'autore · diritti d'autore · diritti d' autore · copyright · author's right · author's rights
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A creator's exclusive right in an original work of authorship. The right protects both economic interests in reproduction and distribution and moral interests in attribution and integrity of the work.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Insight Valuation sued MetroHomes Brokerage in federal court alleging unauthorized copying of its valuation database. Insight also asserted a state deceptive trade practices claim arising from the same copying and marketing. The federal court exercised jurisdiction over the state claim because both theories rested on the identical acts of appropriation of the protected work.
Dawson Steel distributed software that enabled users to locate and download protected music files. The company promoted the software for infringing uses and took no steps to filter copyrighted content. The court held Dawson Steel liable for the resulting infringements of the authors' rights.
Duarte Shipping employees recorded television programs on company devices for later viewing. The recordings did not involve commercial exploitation or distribution. The court concluded that this private time shifting did not infringe the authors' rights in the broadcast works.
Dillon Energy compiled a telephone directory of customer names and numbers. The compilation required only rote alphabetical arrangement without creative selection. The court held that the directory lacked the originality required to support an author's right.
Daphne Doyle arranged lighting, pose, and expression for a studio portrait of a client. The resulting photograph reflected creative choices by the photographer. The court recognized the image as an original work protected by the author's right.
Danielle Dixon published an article that quoted key passages from a forthcoming presidential memoir. The quotations revealed the core of the work before authorized release. The court ruled that the extensive taking exceeded fair use and infringed the author's right.
Yes. When both claims rest on the same acts of appropriation of a protected work, they form part of the same case or controversy. The court may therefore hear the state claim alongside the federal author's right claim.
The plaintiff must demonstrate that the directory reflects original selection or arrangement rather than mere alphabetical listing of facts. A rote compilation lacks the creativity required for protection.
…concurs in the judgment. Majority opinion Opinion of Justice O'Connor This case requires us to clarify the extent of copyright protection available to telephone directory white pages. Rural Telephone Service Company, Inc., is a certified public utility that provides telephone service to several communities in…
…that fact, its publication may be enjoined for a time because of the presence of an overwhelming national interest. Similarly, copyright cases have no pertinence here: the Government is not asserting an interest in the particular form of words chosen in the documents, but is seeking to suppress the ideas expressed therein.…
…been available to religious adherents on neutral terms. Several examples may be found in the work of early Congresses, including copyright
…The majority held that petitioner's complaint stated a cause of action for conversion and for infringement of a common-law copyright
…under the Statute of Anne of 1710,[^maj-6] English courts held that in some instances "fair abridgements" would not infringe an author's rights
Liability arises when the distributor promotes the software for infringing uses and fails to implement filters that would prevent unauthorized copying of protected works. Active encouragement of infringement supports secondary liability.
No. Noncommercial recording of programs for later personal viewing does not constitute infringement when the copies are not distributed or exploited commercially.
The photographer must exercise original choices in lighting, pose, and expression. These creative decisions transform the image into an original work protected by the author's right.
Quotation that reveals the heart of the work before authorized publication infringes the author's right. The commercial nature and amount taken weigh against fair use.