What does UCO mean in UNIVERSITIES

The University Copyright Office provides support to the university’s research, teaching, and service mission by assisting with copyright questions and navigating through the complex world of copyright law. The office is a resource for faculty, staff, students and other members of the university community to assist in understanding copyright law and to help identify potential uses of copyrighted materials.

You can contact the University Copyright Office for guidance on your individual questions. You may also find helpful information regarding copyright at https://copyright.uconn.edu/, which includes additional details about the office’s services and resources. Additionally, you may utilize tools available from our friends at Creative Commons or contact an attorney for legal advice.

Anyone who has a question or concern related to copyright law or usage of copyrighted materials should consider contacting us for assistance. This may include faculty, staff, students or any other members of UConn’s community who have a question concerning copyright law or usage of materials that are protected by copyright laws.

Yes, there are several different categories including literary works such as books; musical works such as songs; dramatic works such as plays; audio/visual works such as films; video games; software programs; choreographic works; architectural designs; digital images; sound recordings; motion pictures and photographs.

Copying material without permission is generally not allowed and could be in violation of U.S. Copyright Law depending on how it is used and where it originated from. It is always best practice to obtain permission before copying any material that you do not own or create yourself.

Permission would typically be required when utilizing copyrighted material for commercial purposes, making substantial portions (such as more than one chapter) available online in course reserves or course websites/Blackboard pages, creating derivative works (e.g., adaptations), reproducing on multiple copies intended for educational use outside the classroom (e.g., student publications), creating public performances (e.g., plays) or displaying digital images beyond fair use guidelines (e.g., entire image galleries).

Yes, fair use is an important part of U.S Copyright Law which allows limited reproduction and use without obtaining explicit written permission from a rights holder under certain circumstances such as scholarship or research purposes, criticism/commentary/news reporting or educational activities within classrooms setting among others.

If you are seeking permission from a rights holder you will likely need some basic information including name(s)of author(s)/artist(s), title(s)/description(s)of work being requested along with any specific detail relatedto how you intend to utilize their work such as details about where it will be displayed/used (including website URL if applicable) plus length/amount desired.(END]

Q: How do I know who owns the copyrights to something that was created prior to 1978?

A :That can be challenging since prior to 1978 copyrights were only granted based upon publication status so older works may still be protected by estate copyrights even if they are not renewed today with new registrations issued annually through USCO . Post-1978 copyrights become automatically effective upon fixation into tangible form so owners are easy enough to locate but pre-1978 copyrights can become tricky since published materials must have been registered prior to 1964 whereas unpublished material must have been created prior 1975 in order to qualify for renewal protection .If uncertain , best advice would be browse various resources -USCO records , Internet Archive etc –or consider hiring experienced attorney who specialize in researching estate rights.