ePortfolio Design Tips, Resources, & Copyright Guide: Copyright

Copyright holders have rights.  Their material (including film, images, photographs, and electronic work) can not be copied without their permission.  The copyholder rights are as follows:

• The right to reproduce the work
• The right create derivative works based upon the original
• The right to distribute copies of the work by sale, rental, lease, or lending
• The right to perform or display an audio or visual work publicly

After a specific period of time a copyright expires.   As of our last Copyright Term Extension Act in 1998, the term of copyright is now the life of the author plus seventy (70) years.  If it an anonymous work or a work that belongs to a company, for example, the term is ninety-five (95) years from publication or one hundred twenty (120) years from creation, whichever is shorter.

Unpublished works enter the public domain 70 years after the creator's death.