17 USC 101 defines terms used throughout federal copyright law. Those definitions help determine whether a work is fixed, whether it was published, who may be its author, and whether a transaction transfers ownership. They do not replace the separate statutory rules governing protection, ownership, registration, or infringement.
Fixation is more than an idea
The definition concerns embodiment in a sufficiently permanent or stable medium that permits the work to be perceived, reproduced, or communicated for more than a transitory duration, by or under the author’s authority. Copyright protects qualifying expression rather than an unfixed idea someone hopes to develop. [1]
For example, an original written lesson can be fixed in a saved document. A general idea for a lesson is different. Whether a temporary technical copy satisfies the definition can require a more specialized factual analysis.
Work made for hire has two routes
An employee’s work prepared within the scope of employment can qualify. Certain specially ordered or commissioned works can also qualify if they fall within the listed statutory categories and the parties sign the required written agreement. Paying a freelancer does not automatically make every commissioned work a work made for hire. [1]
Section 201 supplies the corresponding ownership rule: for a qualifying work made for hire, the employer or commissioning person is generally considered the author and owner unless the parties agree otherwise in a signed written instrument. [2]
Publication and transfers are distinct concepts
Section 101’s publication definition concerns distribution and specified offers to distribute copies or phonorecords. Public performance or display alone does not necessarily constitute publication. That distinction can affect registration and other copyright questions.
A transfer of copyright ownership includes specified assignments and exclusive grants, while a nonexclusive license is treated differently. The actual agreement matters more than a document’s informal label.
- Identify the expression and medium.
- Determine the creator’s employment or commissioning relationship.
- Read the signed ownership and license terms.
- Separate publication from mere online display or performance.
See copyright notices without registration and copyright litigation costs and attorney fees. Adding a notice does not resolve an ownership dispute, and buying a copy of a work does not necessarily transfer the copyright in it.
Primary sources
Sources checked: October 31, 2026.