copyright
[kop-ee-rahyt]
- 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.
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- of or relating to copyrights.
- Also cop·y·right·ed. protected by copyright.
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- to secure a copyright on.
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Origin of copyright
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for copyright
Contemporary Examples
Copyright © 2014 by Alain Mabanckou from Letter to Jimmy (translated by Sara Meli Ansari).
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 ChristieMarlow 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 ChristieMarlow Stern
November 20, 2014
State officials were not amused, and are suing the advocacy group for copyright infringement.
Kim is not thought to be broke just yet, but he will be soon, as movie studios seek to recoup $100m in copyright fees.
Historical Examples
No epoch of time can claim a copyright in these immortal fables.
The Gorgon's HeadNathaniel Hawthorne
Those, it will be remembered, were the days before Anglo-American copyright.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume IIMrs. 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 AmericaC. 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
copyright
- 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)
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- (of a work, etc) subject to or controlled by copyright
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- (tr) to take out a copyright on
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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
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.
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Note
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.
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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.