simple past tense and past participle of copyright
"The company decided to sue because their software was copyrighted by a rival firm in 2015."
In plain English: To copyright something means to legally protect it so only you can use, copy, or share that specific work.
"You cannot use that song because it is copyrighted by a major music label."
(of literary or musical or dramatic or artistic work) protected by copyright
"permission to publish copyright material"
Covered by a copyright, not public domain.
"The song is copyrighted, so you cannot play it without paying royalties to the artist."
In plain English: Copyrighted means something is legally protected so only its owner can copy it.
"The photos on his website are copyrighted, so he asked visitors not to post them elsewhere without permission."
Usage: Use this adjective to describe works that are legally protected and cannot be freely copied without permission. It is the standard term when distinguishing material from content in the public domain or under open licenses like Creative Commons.