as in patent
the legal right to be the only one to reproduce, publish, and sell a book, musical recording, etc., for a certain period of time
His family still holds the copyright to his songs. laws that protect copyrights
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Recent Examples of copyright
The intent is to substantially alter the code and thus dodge Anthropic’s copyright takedowns, which have been removing the GitHub repositories over infringement.
—
Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 1 Apr. 2026
The company’s catalog includes more than 19,000 copyrights and master recordings including songs written and recorded by Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, One Direction, Christopher Cross, Drake, Joan Jett, Lewis Capaldi, Run the Jewels, SWV, and more.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 26 Mar. 2026
In a 9-0 decision, the justices threw out Sony’s lawsuit and a $1-billion jury verdict against Cox Communications for copyright infringement.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Photographs copyright © 2026 by Matt Armendariz.
—Demi Lovato, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for copyright
Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 1 Apr. 2026
The company’s catalog includes more than 19,000 copyrights and master recordings including songs written and recorded by Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, One Direction, Christopher Cross, Drake, Joan Jett, Lewis Capaldi, Run the Jewels, SWV, and more.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 26 Mar. 2026
In a 9-0 decision, the justices threw out Sony’s lawsuit and a $1-billion jury verdict against Cox Communications for copyright infringement.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Photographs copyright © 2026 by Matt Armendariz.
—Demi Lovato, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for copyright
Recent Examples of Synonyms for copyright
patent
Noun
-
Francis’ patent drawing has a complete spoon bowl with tines appearing out the front.—
James Stout,
Outside,
29 Mar. 2026
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That year, the region also generated almost two-thirds of the world’s biotech patent grants, more than five times what came out of Europe.—
Angelica Ang,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Copyright.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/copyright. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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