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copyright

[kop-ee-rahyt]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR copyright ON THESAURUS.COM

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 the author or creator and for a period of 70 years after his or her death.

adjective

of or relating to copyrights.

Also cop·y·right·ed. protected by copyright.

verb (used with object)

to secure a copyright on.

Origin of copyright

First recorded in 1725–35; copy + right

Related formscop·y·right·a·ble, adjectivecop·y·right·er, nounun·cop·y·right·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for copyright

patent, trust, cartel, holding, ownership, exclude, possess, utilize, absorb, syndicate, proprietorship, corner, pool, oligopoly, consortium, engross, use, acquire, consume, devour

Examples from the Web for copyright

Contemporary Examples of copyright

Copyright © 2014 by Alain Mabanckou from Letter to Jimmy (translated by Sara Meli Ansari).
Living Black & Gay in the ’50s
Alain Mabanckou
December 3, 2014
So what I always tell the kids is to be careful about signing to a label and always protect your copyright.
Wyclef Jean Talks Lauryn Hill, the Yele Haiti Controversy, and Chris Christie
Marlow Stern
November 20, 2014
For an artist like myself, the most important part is the publishing, and owning my own copyright.
Wyclef Jean Talks Lauryn Hill, the Yele Haiti Controversy, and Chris Christie
Marlow Stern
November 20, 2014
State officials were not amused, and are suing the advocacy group for copyright infringement.
Living in Louisiana’s Tragic Health-Care Limbo
Linda Marsa
November 15, 2014
Kim is not thought to be broke just yet, but he will be soon, as movie studios seek to recoup $100m in copyright fees.
The Zillionaires Who Lost Everything
Tom Sykes
October 26, 2014

Historical Examples of copyright

No epoch of time can claim a copyright in these immortal fables.
The Gorgon's Head
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Those, it will be remembered, were the days before Anglo-American copyright.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume II
Mrs. Humphry Ward
Fisheries, copyright, and even customs' duties, are instances in point.
Critical Miscellanies (Vol. 3 of 3)
John Morley
I said I had a copyright of my own face, if we were engaged!
The Lightning Conductor Discovers America
C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson and A. M. (Alice Muriel) Williamson
A "copyright" in heads is a good suggestion, and coming from a publisher too!
The Confessions of a Caricaturist, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Harry Furniss

British Dictionary definitions for copyright

copyright

noun

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)Symbol: (c)

adjective

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

verb

(tr) to take out a copyright on

Derived Formscopyrightable, adjectivecopyrighter, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for copyright

n.

"the right to make or sell copies," 1735, from copy + right (n.). As a verb, from 1806 (implied in past participle adjective copyrighted).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

copyright in Culture

copyright

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.

Note

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

copyright

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.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.