copyrights

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of copyright.

   The publisher transferred all its copyrights to a new owner.

   Songwriters often hold the copyrights to their own melodies.

   Note

   The plural belongs to the countable use, where each right attaches to particular works: a publisher's catalog of copyrights, or an estate's copyrights in several novels. The broader idea of the legal right itself is usually uncountable, so a book is under copyright, never under copyrights. The informal use meaning an infringement is uncountable too, so it has no plural to speak of.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of copyright.

   She copyrights her manuscripts as soon as they are finished.

   The label copyrights every recording the band produces.

   Note

   Spelled exactly like the plural noun, this verb form is told apart only by its sentence: a studio copyrights its films. It means securing the legal right, and it can stand without an object, as when a writer copyrights before publishing. A newer, informal use means flagging someone's upload for infringement. It is nonstandard, so keep it out of formal or legal writing, where only the first meaning holds.

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