Copyright law deals with the creation, ownership, sale, and use of creative and expressive works. Copyright laws were created to protect the rights of authors and creators.
You've probably seen the "circled c" © symbol. This means an photograph, article, figure, table, etc is copyrighted. However, the © symbol is not required in order for a work to be copyright protected.
Creators do not have to do anything to get a copyright. Copyright protections are automatically in place from the moment the work is created.
Obtaining copyright permission is the process of getting consent from the copyright owner to use the owner's materials. Copyright permission is often but not always required. If you use a copyrighted work without the owner's permission, you may be violating the owner's rights and subject to legal action.
MD Anderson staff and students can use RightFind Academic to review copyright licenses for educational materials.
