The rights of copyright
Copyright is seen as a bundle of rights. These rights include the right to:
- Make copies of the work
- Distribute copies of the work (by selling, renting, lending, or giving it away)
- Perform or display the work publicly
- Make derivative works, like translations, adaptations, and reinterpretations
Because these rights are imagined as a bundle, the owner of the copyright can give away, sell, or otherwise license some or all of these rights to others (as when an author negotiates a contract - they may give the publisher the right to copy and distribute the work but not make future derivative works, for instance).
What Copyright Protects
Copyright only applies to the following kinds of works:
- literary works
- musical works, including accompanying words
- dramatic works, including accompanying music
- pantomimes and choreographic works
- pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
- motion pictures and other audiovisual works
- sound recordings
- architectural works
This list encompasses most kinds of creative or intellectual expression. Works must also be "fixed in a tangible medium of expression". Unfixed works like improvised music, speeches, or dances are not protected by copyright.
Remember: copyright is not designed to reward hard work but, rather, to foster creativity. Works that took a lot of effort to put together but that don't contain original expression do not qualify for copyright protection.
What is NOT protected by copyright
- procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation (these are protected by patents)
- ideas, concepts, principles, or discoveries
- titles, names, short phrases and slogans; familiar symbols or designs, mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, mere listings of ingredients or contents
- other unoriginal or unfixed works
