Jump To:

• copyright
  copyright

  noun

  the exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit a literary, musical, or artistic work, whether printed, audio, video, etc.: works granted such right by law on or after January 1, 1978, are protected for the lifetime of an author or creator and for a period of 70 years after their death.
• ©
  ©

  symbol

  copyright

copyright

American  

[kop-ee-rahyt] / ˈkɒp iˌraɪt /

noun

copyrights plural

1. the exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit a literary, musical, or artistic work, whether printed, audio, video, etc.: works granted such right by law on or after January 1, 1978, are protected for the lifetime of an author or creator and for a period of 70 years after their death.

---

adjective

1. of or relating to copyrights.

2. Also copyrighted. protected by copyright.

verb (used with object)

copyrights, present (3rd person singular) copyrighted, past participle, past copyrighting present participle

1. to secure a copyright on.

copyright ¹ British  

/ ˈkɒpɪˌraɪt /

noun

1.  (c).  the exclusive right to produce copies and to control an original literary, musical, or artistic work, granted by law for a specified number of years (in Britain, usually 70 years from the death of the author, composer, etc, or from the date of publication if later)

---

adjective

1. (of a work, etc) subject to or controlled by copyright

verb

1. (tr) to take out a copyright on

© ² British  

symbol

1. copyright

---

copyright ¹ Cultural  

1. The legal protection given to published works, forbidding anyone but the author from publishing or selling them. An author can transfer the copyright to another person or corporation, such as a publishing company.

---

copyright ² Cultural  

1. A grant of an exclusive right to produce or sell a book, motion picture, work of art, musical composition, software, or similar product during a specified period of time.

---

Discover More

The symbol (see also symbol) for copyright is ©.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• copyrighter
  noun
• copyrightable
  adjective
• uncopyrighted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• copyrights
  plural

Participles

• copyrighting
  present
• copyrighted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• copyright
  simple
• copyrights
  simple
• have copyrighted
  perfect
• has copyrighted
  perfect
• am copyrighting
  progressive
• are copyrighting
  progressive
• is copyrighting
  progressive
• have been copyrighting
  perfect progressive
• has been copyrighting
  perfect progressive

Past

• copyrighted
  simple
• had copyrighted
  perfect
• was copyrighting
  progressive
• were copyrighting
  progressive
• had been copyrighting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will copyright
  simple
• will have copyrighted
  perfect
• will be copyrighting
  progressive
• will have been copyrighting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of copyright

First recorded in 1725–35; copy + right

Explanation

A copyright is a document that gives the ownership rights over artistic work, like songs or stories. If you don't get a copyright for your brilliant new novel, someone could adapt it into a movie without paying you a dime. Copyright means exactly what it sounds like: the right to make copies of something. If you copyright a song, a singer will to have to pay you to record it. Usually, copyright only lasts for a certain number of years. In the U.S. when a book or song has had a copyright for more than 75 years, that expires and it becomes "public domain," which means nobody owns the rights to it anymore.

Example Sentences

Willis rejoined Village People in 2017 following a victory in a copyright lawsuit which allowed him to reclaim part-ownership of some of the band's biggest hits.

From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026

He left the band in 1980 and spent years fighting a legal battle over copyright to the songs he'd written.

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026

Whether that threshold is crossed here, he said, would require a fuller review of the organization’s finances, contracts, and other considerations, including copyright ownership issues relating to the films produced.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2026

Studios have sued and sent threatening letters to AI companies for alleged copyright violations and filmmakers have decried AI as an enemy of creativity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026

Emily held her breath as he opened to the copyright page where the raven version of the Bayside Press symbol was.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Related Words

• cartel
• holding
• ownership
• patent
• trust