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Copyright Law

In response to questions regarding what can be copied at Copy Center, we have developed the Copy Center Copying Protocol to address the law on trademarks, copyrighted works and restricted materials worldwide.

Trademarks

Names, words and designs used to identify services or products such as Copy Center, are considered trademarks, service mark and/or logos. The owner of a trademark, service mark or logo has the exclusive right to use or reproduce it. Copy Center requires written permission from the owner in order to reproduce any trademark, service mark or logo.

Copyright Works

The law provides the copyright owner the exclusive right to reproduce or permit someone else to reproduce copyrighted works. Copy Center requires written permission from the copyright owner in order to reproduce any copyrighted works.

What is a Copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of original works by the laws of the author's resident country and through International Treaties. A partial listing of authors who are referred to as copyright owners include photographers, artists, architects, publishers, singers, writers and composers. The copyright owner's exclusive rights include:

  • Reproducing the work (scanning, faxing, photocopying, etc.)
  • Preparing derivative works (artist's renderings)
  • Displaying the work publicly.

Copyright Notice

The copyright owner may place a copyright notice (e.g., Copy Center 108) on its works, but this notice is not required by law and works are copyright protected without the copyright notice.

Copyrighted Works Categories

  • Pictures, Graphics and Sculptures (e.g., photographs, cartoon characters, maps)
  • Architectural Works (e.g., blueprints) · Music and Lyrics
  • Literary Works (e.g., newspapers, magazines, cartoons, trade journals, books, newsletters, computer programs)
  • Dramatic Works (e.g., plays, screenplays)
  • Pantomimes and Choreographic Works
  • Audiovisual Works (e.g., videotapes)
  • Sound Recordings (e.g., compact discs, cassette tapes, phonographic records)
  • Ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, photograph, computer software program or a copy of such items does not give the possessor of these items the right to copy them. If you are the copyright owner, ownership and identification must be verified before Copy.Net will reproduce any copyrighted works.

*Works published by the United States government do not require copyright permission since they are not copyrightable. However, the U.S. Postal Service is an incorporated entity and is entitled to copyright protection on U.S. postage stamp designs.

Copyright Life

The copyright Law is specific about the amount of time copyright protections lasts. Copyrighted works are protected from the moment of their creation. Below are three formulas provided by the Copyright Office to help determine the term of copyright protection:

  • Works created or published on or after January 1, 1978 are protected during the life of the author, plus 70 years after the author's death.
  • For works published before January 1, 1978, the life of the copyright is 28 years, with an option to renew for an additional 67 years for a total life span of 95 years. Contact the Copyright office for information about renewed copyrights.
  • For works made for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works, the duration of copyright is 120 years from creation or 95 years from publication.

Restricted Materials

It is Copy Center policy to uphold the law against counterfeiting materials which are negotiable instruments and materials used for identification purposes. No restricted materials may be scanned.

What is Restricted Material?

Materials which are negotiable, or chick can be used for identification purposes are considered restricted materials.

Negotiable Material

The following materials can only be copied in black and white, single-sided and must be reduced to 75% or enlarged to 150% of its original size:

  • Paper Currency
  • Travelers Checks
  • Money Orders
  • Checks/Drafts
  • Internal Revenue Stamps
  • Postage Stamps (Designs are copyrighted by the U.S. Postal Service. Refer to Copyright Protocol when making color copies.)
  • Treasury Notes
  • Bonds
  • Gold Certificates
  • Register Receipts and Tapes
  • Identification

The following items can only be copied in black and white:

  • Badges
  • Birth Certificates
  • Diplomas
  • Immigration Papers
  • Certificates of U.S. Citizenship
  • Parking Permits
  • Transportation Tickets
  • Automobile Certificates of Title
  • Signatures
  • School Transcripts

The following items can be copied at size in black and white or in color but must be reduced to 75% or enlarged to 150%:

  • Passports
  • Driver's Licenses
  • Identification Cards
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