I’m excited to introduce Copyright Resource, UW’s newly redesigned self-help guide for copyright principles and policies. Developed to help UW educators, researchers, and creators navigate copyright concerns, the site provides a broad overview of copyright policies and their applications in the context of higher education.

Copyright is a form of intellectual property protection for original works of authorship in a tangible medium, including written materials, film and video works, audio recordings, graphic designs, databases, and computer software. A work is under copyright protection the moment it is created; there is no requirement for publishing.

UW’s Copyright Policy, Executive Order 36, generally provides information about copyright ownership, and for copyright owned by the university, it addresses management and licensing transactions. My role is to advise UW educators, researchers, and creators, who are working with CoMotion, on UW-owned copyright and trademark issues.

The redesign overhauled the site’s look, feel, and organization to make it more intuitive and easier to navigate. It also features new writing on the tenets of the Copyright Act of 1976 as well as recent developments in copyright law, including recent federal decisions regarding AI-generated work and the advent of a small claims process for copyright infringement. The new site now has an FAQ section, which will likely address many copyright questions, and Quick Links on each page directing users to commonly searched sources, including the U.S. Copyright Office, a fair use index, UW Libraries, and resources for open source and Creative Commons licenses.

We hope that members of the UW community will turn to it as a reference and springboard for further research on copyright issues.