The basics
Copyright attaches the moment you write, record, or draw something original; you don't have to register it. That means you also can't freely reuse someone else's figure, photo, or paragraph just because you cite it — citation answers plagiarism, not copyright. You need fair use, a license, or permission.
When it gets complicated
Work done on a funded grant, an invention that might be patented, and materials you create as a TA can be governed by university IP policy or a sponsor's contract. If you plan to publish a thesis, deposit a dataset, or license your code, talk to the library's scholarly-communication staff or the technology-transfer office first.
In and around Porter Falls
Curriculum decisions at Porter run through the departments that meet in Founders Hall and the Applied Arts Building, then to Faculty Senate, then to the Provost in Millwright Hall. The pace is deliberately slow and the review calendar is published.
The practical details
You own: Your papers, code, art, and data by default — copyright is automatic on creation. Using others' work: Fair use, a license (including Creative Commons), permission, or public-domain status — cite regardless. Watch for: Sponsored research, patentable inventions, and course materials, which can carry separate agreements. Anything time-sensitive — an accommodation, a booking, a deadline — is worth confirming directly before you rely on it, because the specifics here can change from term to term.
If you have a question
The office behind this is Office of the Provost (Millwright Hall, Room 300). Call (715) 555–0130 or email provost@uwporterfalls.edu during the fall and spring terms, or sign in to MyPorter to send a message or book a time. If it turns out another office owns the question, they will route it rather than send you back to the start.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. Every office, person, building, phone number and statistic on this page is invented; nothing here describes a real institution or a service you can actually contact.