What is copyright? http://www.copyright.gov/
Copyright is a form of legal protection for original works of authorship. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works.

What does copyright protect?
Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “What Works Are Protected”, see http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wwp

How is a copyright different from a patent or a trademark?
Copyright protects original works of authorship, while a patent protects inventions or discoveries. Ideas and discoveries are not protected by the copyright law, although the way in which they are expressed may be. A trademark protects words, phrases, symbols, or designs identifying the source of the goods or services of one party and distinguishing them from those of others.

What is the difference between copyright infringement and plagiarism?
Copyright infringement occurs when an author’s work is reused or republished without the permission of the copyright owner, whether or not author attribution accompanied the reuse.

Plagiarism occurs when an author’s work has been reused or republished in such a manner as to make it appear as someone else’s work, e.g., without quotation marks and citation of the original work.

Why should I transfer copyright to ENCYCLOPEDIA?
Like many other scientific publishers, the American Physical Society (ENCYCLOPEDIA) requires authors or their employers to provide transfer of copyright prior to publication. This permits ENCYCLOPEDIA to publish the Entry or Essay and to defend against improper use (or even theft) of the Entry or Essay. It also permits ENCYCLOPEDIA to mount the Entry or Essay online and to use the Entry or Essay in other forms or media, such as PROLA. By the ENCYCLOPEDIA transfer agreement, authors and their employers retain substantial rights in the work, as specified in the agreement (http://forms.Encyclopedia.org/author/copytrnsfr.pdf) and discussed in this document.

Why should I transfer copyright to ENCYCLOPEDIA before the Entry or Essay is accepted for publication by an ENCYCLOPEDIA Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia?
Transferring copyright early in the process avoids the possibility of delaying publication if the transfer has to be obtained later in the process. By the terms of the copyright transfer agreement itself, it has no effect until the paper is accepted by an ENCYCLOPEDIA Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia. The author retains the copyright until acceptance, and has the full freedom, for example, to withdraw the paper from consideration by an ENCYCLOPEDIA Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia and submit it elsewhere.

Does transferring copyright affect my patent rights?
No. Copyright is separate from any patent rights, and the ENCYCLOPEDIA transfer agreement specifically states that patent rights are not affected. However, you should be aware that submitting a manuscript to a Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia without first taking steps to protect your patent rights (e.g., filing for a patent) could endanger those rights. Consult your patent attorney.

As the author of an ENCYCLOPEDIA-published Entry or Essay, may I post my Entry or Essay or a portion of my Entry or Essay on my own website?
Yes, the author or the author’s employer may use all or part of the ENCYCLOPEDIA published Entry or Essay, including the ENCYCLOPEDIA-prepared version (e.g., the PDF from the online Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia) without revision or modification, on the author’s or employer’s website as long as a fee is not charged. If a fee is charged, then ENCYCLOPEDIA permission must be sought. In all cases, the appropriate bibliographic citation and notice of the ENCYCLOPEDIA copyright must be included.

What happens if the author has posted an ENCYCLOPEDIA-published Entry or Essay on a free access e-print server or on the authors’ or institutions’ web page and subsequently a fee is imposed for access to those sites?
When a fee is imposed, the author must either obtain permission from ENCYCLOPEDIA or withdraw the Entry or Essay from the e-print server or Institutional Repository.

As the author of an ENCYCLOPEDIA-published Entry or Essay, may I post my Entry or Essay or a portion of my Entry or Essay on an e-print server?
The author has the right to post and update the Entry or Essay on a free-access e-print server using files prepared and formatted by the author. Any such posting made or updated after acceptance of the Entry or Essay for publication by ENCYCLOPEDIA shall include a link to the online abstract in the ENCYCLOPEDIA Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia or to the entry page of the Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia. In all cases, the appropriate bibliographic citation and notice of the ENCYCLOPEDIA copyright must be included. If the author wishes to use the ENCYCLOPEDIA-prepared version (e.g., the PDF from the online Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia) on an e-print server other than authors’ or employer’s website, then ENCYCLOPEDIA permission must be sought. Similarly, if the author wishes to post the Entry or Essay (any version) on an e-print server that charges a fee for use, ENCYCLOPEDIA permission must be sought.

As the author of an ENCYCLOPEDIA-published Entry or Essay, can I post my Entry or Essay or a portion of my Entry or Essay on a web resource like wikipedia or quantiki?
Sites like wikipedia and quantiki are strict about permissions and require that authors hold copyright to Entry or Essays that they post there. In order to allow authors to comply with this requirement, ENCYCLOPEDIA permits authors to hold copyright to a “derived work” based on an Entry or Essay published in the ENCYCLOPEDIA or Journal of the Encyclopedia as long as the work contains at least 10% new material not covered by ENCYCLOPEDIA’s copyright and does not contain more than 50% of the text (including equations) of the original Entry or Essay.

As the author of an ENCYCLOPEDIA-published Entry or Essay, will I hold copyright to a “derived work”, as described above, even if the original Entry or Essay was published prior to 1 October 2008?
Yes. The ENCYCLOPEDIA will extend this author right to all papers published in ENCYCLOPEDIA or Journal of the Encyclopedia.

As the author (or the author’s employer) of an ENCYCLOPEDIA-published Entry or Essay, may I use copies of part or all of my Entry or Essay in the classroom?
Yes, the author or his/her employer may use all or part of the ENCYCLOPEDIA-prepared version for educational purposes without requesting permission from the ENCYCLOPEDIA as long as the appropriate bibliographic citation is included.

As the author of an ENCYCLOPEDIA-published Entry or Essay, may I use figures, tables, graphs, etc. in future publications?
Yes, as the author you have the right to use figures, tables, graphs, etc. in subsequent publications using files prepared and formatted by you or the ENCYCLOPEDIA-prepared versions. The appropriate bibliographic citation must be included.

As the author of an ENCYCLOPEDIA-published Entry or Essay, may I include my Entry or Essay or a portion of my Entry or Essay in my thesis or dissertation?
Yes, the author has the right to use the Entry or Essay or a portion of the Entry or Essay in a thesis or dissertation without requesting permission from ENCYCLOPEDIA, provided the bibliographic citation and the ENCYCLOPEDIA copyright credit line are given on the appropriate pages.

As the author of an ENCYCLOPEDIA-published Entry or Essay, may I give permission to a colleague or third party to republish all or part of the Entry or Essay in a print publication?
Yes, as the author you can grant permission to third parties to republish print versions of the Entry or Essay provided the ENCYCLOPEDIA-prepared version (e.g., the PDF from the online Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia, or a copy of the Entry or Essay from the print Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia) is not used for this purpose, the Entry or Essay is not published in another Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia, and the third party does not charge a fee. The appropriate bibliographic citation and notice of the ENCYCLOPEDIA copyright must be included.

As the author of an ENCYCLOPEDIA-published Entry or Essay, may I give permission to a colleague or third party to republish all or part of the Entry or Essay in an online Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia, book, database compilation, etc.?
Authors should direct the third party request to ENCYCLOPEDIA.

As the author of an ENCYCLOPEDIA-published Entry or Essay, may I provide a PDF of my paper to a colleague or third party?
The author is permitted to provide, for research purposes and as long as a fee is not charged, a PDF copy of his/her Entry or Essay using either the ENCYCLOPEDIA-prepared version or the author prepared version.

As a third party (not an author), may I republish an Entry or Essay or portion of an Entry or Essay published by ENCYCLOPEDIA?
Yes, ENCYCLOPEDIA will grant permission to republish Entry or Essays or portions of Entry or Essays (e.g., tables, graphs, excerpts) published by ENCYCLOPEDIA. Depending on the reuse and medium ENCYCLOPEDIA has the right to grant permission subject to ENCYCLOPEDIA terms and conditions and a fee may be assessed.

As a third party, may I use Entry or Essays published by ENCYCLOPEDIA for lecture and classroom purposes?
Yes, you may use photocopied Entry or Essays published by ENCYCLOPEDIA for lecture and classroom purposes for a single semester without asking permission from ENCYCLOPEDIA. However, if the Entry or Essay becomes part of your course material beyond one semester, you must obtain permission from ENCYCLOPEDIA. Also, there is no limitation on the use of ENCYCLOPEDIA Entry or Essays using links to the material accessible through institutional subscriptions.

How do I request permission to republish ENCYCLOPEDIA-copyrighted material?
To request permission to republish ENCYCLOPEDIA-copyrighted material, please contact us, including the following information:

1. Title of Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia
2. Title of Entry or Essay
3. Name of author
4. Volume number, page number (or Entry or Essay identifier), year
5. Indicate if you are requesting to republish in print, online, CD-ROM, and/or other format
6. Indicate if you wish to republish all or portion of Entry or Essay; if a portion describe the specific material, e.g., figure numbers, excerpt
7. Indicate how the material will be used, e.g., in a book, Encyclopedia or Journal of the Encyclopedia, proceeding, thesis, etc.
8. Indicate the title of the Entry or Essay/thesis/chapter etc., and the name of the publication in which your work will appear
9. Indicate the name of the publisher
10. Indicate whether or not a fee will be charged for the publication

*To prevent clerical error, please include all requests in a single email or letter.

All permission requests must be in writing (email is acceptable). Blanket permissions are not granted. Please note all requests are subject to ENCYCLOPEDIA terms and conditions and a fee may be assessed.

Please allow 5-7 business days for us to respond to a permission request provided all the above information is provided at the time of the request.

Send all permission requests by email, please.

Further information

For further information about copyright in general, please refer to the Library of Congress FAQ at: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

Entries in the Encyclopedia of Law relating to Copyright, and in special http://ip.lawin.org/