Skip to Main Content

Copyright: Law & Policy

Purpose & Disclaimer

Greenville Technical College Libraries maintains this guide to provide a resource for copyright-related information and services. The information presented in this guide is for information purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for actual legal advice. Please consult an expert in copyright law for legal advice.

GTC Policies & Procedures

Greenville Technical College provides an administrative policy on copyright and intellectual property and a copyright compliance form to help employees, students, and others document efforts to properly use copyrighted materials and comply with United States Copyright Law (Title 17, United States Code, Sect 101, et seq.).

GTC faculty, staff, and students do not have permission to copy or distribute inclusive access materials provided by the Bookstore. Publisher and vendor agreements only allow digital access by individuals that have purchased the content. 

What is Copyright Law?

United States Copyright Law (Title 17 of the United States Code) protects authors or creators of various published and unpublished works. Except as allowed by this code, it is a violation of law for persons to copy, distribute, perform, digitally transmit, or to create a new work based upon a copyrighted work without the permission of the copyright owner.
 

Copyright does not protect ideas, titles, names, short phrases, works in the public domain, forms that collect information, or links to websites. It does protect "forms of expressions" delivered in the following formats:

  • Literary works
  • Musical works (along with accompanying lyrics)
  • Dramatic works (along with accompanying music)
  • Pantomimes and choreographic works
  • Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
  • Motion pictures and audiovisual works
  • Sound recordings
  • Architectural works
  • Computer programs


Copyright law gives an author/creator the exclusive rights to:

  • Reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords
  • Prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted work
  • Distribute copies or phonorecords of the work by sale to the public or other transfer of ownership, rental, lease, or lending
  • Perform literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work publicly.

 

It is not necessary for an author/creator to register a work with the Copyright Office in order to copyright it, nor is it still necessary to include a copyright notice.

Useful Copyright Links

Questions?

Contact the Greenville Technical College Copyright Officer :
Tara Weekes
Director of Learning Resources
Barton Campus, Building 105, Room 129
(864) 236-6500
Tara.Weekes@gvltec.edu

Instagram icon Facebook icon Twitter icon YouTube icon
Accessibility at GTC