Copyright is a legal right established by a country’s law that gives the creator of an original work exclusive control over its use and distribution. These rights usually last for a limited time. Copyright is not absolute and is subject to certain limits and exceptions under the law, including fair use. Importantly, copyright protects only the original expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves.
Copyright gives the creator six exclusive rights:
- Reproduction: The right to make copies of the work in physical or digital formats.
- Derivative Works: The right to create new works based on the original work.
- Distribution: The right to distribute copies of the work to the public through sale, rental, lease, or lending.
- Public Performance: For literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic works, pantomimes, and audiovisual works, the right to perform the work publicly.
- Public Display: For literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including images in motion pictures or audiovisual works, the right to display the work publicly.
- Digital Audio Transmission: For sound recordings, the right to perform the work publicly through digital audio transmissions.
These rights allow creators to control how their work is used, share in its economic benefits, and protect it from unauthorized use.