Also known as: fixations · fix · fixed · fixing · fixed in tangible medium
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The process by which a work of authorship is embodied in a tangible medium of expression from which it can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated. Fixation supplies the constitutional and statutory prerequisite for federal copyright protection.
Fumiko Fujimoto transmits a live musical performance over the internet. Her production team simultaneously records the signal on digital storage. The recording satisfies fixation because the performance is now embodied in a tangible medium that permits perception and reproduction.
Felicity French delivers an unscripted lecture to students. No recording device captures the words. Without fixation in a tangible medium the lecture receives no federal copyright protection.
Francisco Frost creates an original dance routine. A camera records the performance on videotape. The videotape constitutes fixation, allowing the choreography to qualify for copyright as a work of authorship.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Felipe Figueroa models a clay figure and then casts it in bronze. The bronze casting embodies the work in a stable tangible form. Fixation is achieved once the sculpture can be perceived without the aid of a machine for more than a transitory duration.
Francois Fortier writes original computer code. He saves the source code to a hard drive. The saved file meets the fixation requirement because the code is now in a tangible medium from which it can be perceived and reproduced.
Faye Fuller composes a new melody and records it as an MP3 file on her computer. The digital file constitutes fixation in a tangible medium. The song therefore qualifies for federal copyright protection upon creation.
No. Copyright protection requires fixation in a tangible medium. An unrecorded live performance is not fixed and therefore receives no federal copyright protection under the statute.
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Fixation occurs when the broadcast is simultaneously recorded on videotape or other tangible medium. The recording allows the work to be perceived and reproduced, satisfying the statutory requirement.
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Yes. The concept of fixation is implicit in the constitutional term writings. Section 102(a) of the Copyright Act simply makes this constitutional requirement explicit.
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No. Copyright does not extend to unrecorded performances or conversations. Such material may receive protection only under state law if at all.
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…between conception and live birth.[^maj-22] This was "mediate animation." Although Christian theology and the canon law came to fix the point of animation at 40 days for a male and 80 days for a female, a view that persisted until the 19th century, there was otherwise little agreement about the precise time of formation…