copyright
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the legal right that prevents others from copying or selling your creative work without permission.
n.the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material.
Simple“The author owns the copyright to all her novels, so you need her permission to make a movie.”
In context“Under international law, copyright is typically granted automatically upon the creation of an original work, though formal registration provides additional legal protections.”
UsageOften used with the prepositions 'on' or 'to'.
Synonymsintellectual propertylicenseAntonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to get legal protection for something you created so others cannot steal it.
v.to secure the exclusive legal rights for a creative work by following official registration procedures.
Simple“You should copyright your song before you share it on the internet.”
In context“The studio moved quickly to copyright the script to prevent rival producers from developing a similar concept.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
v.to report a video or post because it uses someone else's work without permission.
v.to issue a formal notice or 'strike' against digital content for infringing upon intellectual property rights.
Simple“His video was copyrighted because he used a famous song in the background.”
In context“The creator complained that his review was unfairly copyrighted by the studio, despite his use of the footage falling under fair use guidelines.”
Teacher's tipIn internet slang, users often say a video 'got copyrighted' to mean it was flagged or removed for infringement.
Synonymsflagcopystrike
“In 2025, a judge ruled using books purchased in this way to train AI software was not a violation of US copyright law.”
“Richardson was a printer before he was an author and hung on to his own copyrights.”
From copy + right.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.