However, projects created by nongovernmental authors with federal funding may be copyrighted. Prior to that, a series of copyright formalities needed to be executed in order to ensure copyright ownership. Copyright violation is usually seen as an issue of civil law, which involves payment for damages, rather than an issue of criminal law, which involves criminal penalties such as imprisonment. However, copyright infringement can become a matter of criminal law in cases of willful infringement of copyright. Generally speaking, the copyright owner is the author of the created work.
Exceptions are works made for hire, such as newspaper articles.
Copyrights may also be sold or given away, such as in publication contracts that transfer copyright from an author to the publisher of the work. Reassigning copyright requires a written statement of transference. Acquiring a previously unpublished creation, such as a manuscrit, does not mean that one has acquired its copyrights. For example, if I purchase an original letter written by President Clinton, I only own that physical manifestation of the letter, and I do not necessarily own the copyrights to its content. Unless otherwise stated, Clinton retains the copyrights to the letter's contents.