Reference
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Copyright
"Copyright grants a monopoly of exclusive rights to creators of original
artistic, literary, musical, and dramatic works. The monopoly includes the
rights to publish, reproduce, display, or perform the work as well as the
right to make subsequent derivations using the original. Copyright can exclude
third parties from such things as reproducing copies of a sculpture, performing
a play, adapting a novel for film, or copying computer code."
From: Steven Hetcher "Property, Intellectual" The
Oxford Companion to American Law. Kermit L. Hall, ed. Oxford University
Press 2002. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press University of
North Carolina-Greensboro. 20 October 2004 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t122.e0734>
Public domain
Through copyright the author of a work (or the owner of the
copyright) is the only person with rights to publish the copyrighted work
for a certain term. When that term expires, the copyrighted work is no longer
copyrighted, and is said to have entered "the public domain."
Generally, all material published before 1923 is in the public domain.
Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States
The Public Domain: How to Find and Use Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art and More
MLA
Style - Modern Language Association
Diana Hacker's Research
and Documentation Guide