Can You Copyright a Definition

Briefly, there is a low threshold for copyright eligibility. Dictionary definitions are fixed in a tangible form and they are-at times arguably-original. If an idea simply cannot be expressed in another way, its expression is not copyrightable.

Are Webster definitions copyrighted?

A MERRIAM-WEBSTER, MERRIAM-WEBSTER, COLLEGIATE, WEBSTER’S COLLEGIATE, WEBSTER’S UNABRIDGED, WEBSTER’S THIRD NEW INTERNATIONAL AND DESIGN, MERRIAM-WEBSTER’S COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY AND DESIGN, and CIRCLE WITH NW MONOGRAM AND WEBSTER’S, are trademarks of Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Are dictionary definitions fair use?

Judge Indira Talwani, who addressed the four fair use factors out of the traditional order, held that the textbook dictionary was not a fair use: Nature of the Work. Although the dictionary was based in fact, the definitions chosen by Merriam Webster were the result of a creative process.