C opyright is a form of protection provided to the creators of "original works" including poems, theses, plays, and other literary works, movies, choreographic works (dances, ballets, etc.), musical compositions, audio recordings, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, software, radio and television broadcasts of live and other performances, and, in some jurisdictions, industrial designs. The symbol for copyright is "©", and in some jurisdictions may alternatively be written as either (c) or (C).
This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Designs or industrial designs may have separate or overlapping laws applied to them in some jurisdictions. Copyright is one of the laws covered by the umbrella term intellectual property. The Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to:
- Reproduce the work;
- Prepare other works based upon the work ("derivative works");
- Distribute copies of the work by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by lease;
- Perform the work publicly; and
- Display the copyrighted work publicly. The copyright owner also can authorize others to do all of the above.
Copyright law only covers the particular form or manner in which ideas or information have been manifested, the "form of material expression". It does not cover the actual idea, concepts, facts, or techniques contained in the copyright work.
For example, the copyright which subsists in relation to a Mickey Mouse cartoon prohibits unauthorized parties from distributing copies of the cartoon or creating derivative works which copy or mimic Disney's particular anthropomorphic mouse, but does not prohibit the creation of artistic works about anthropomorphic mice in general, so long as they are sufficiently different to not be deemed imitative of the original. In some jurisdictions, copyright law provides scope for satirical or interpretive works which themselves may be copyrighted. Other laws may impose legal restrictions on reproduction or use where copyright does not - such as trademarks and patents.
Copyright laws are standardized through international conventions such as the Berne Convention in some countries and are required by international organizations such as European Union or World Trade Organization from their member states.
Source : WikiPedia, U.S. Copyright Office
Last update : 22-10-2007 09:00
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