Copyrights

What Is a Copyright?

Copyright protection is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution to prevent illegal use of intellectual information (copyright infringement) which prevents others from using copyright products without prior authorization to use them. A copyright is granted by law on original works of authorship fixed on a medium of expression such as something solid and tangible.

Copyright protects: the original works of authorship: that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following categories:

Literary works
Musical works, including any accompanying words
Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
Pantomimes and choreographic works
Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
Sound recordings
Architectural works

These categories should be viewed broadly as copyright information. For example, computer programs and most "compilations" may be registered as "literary works"; maps and architectural plans may be registered as "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works."

Copyright is sometimes misspelled and could include the following misspellings; copy right, copywrite, copy write, copy wright, copywright, copywriting, copy righting, copy writing, copy wrighting, copywrighting.

Publication

"Publication": is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication unless it is generally distributed in tangible form.

Publication is an important concept in the copyright law for several reasons: Works that are published in the U.S. are subject to mandatory simple deposits of the work(s) with the government within 3 months.

Publication of a work can affect the limitations on the exclusive rights of the copyright owner that are set forth in the law.

The year of publication may determine the duration of copyright protection for anonymous and pseudonymous works (when the author's identity is not revealed in the records of the registry), and for works made for hire. Deposit requirements of material for registration of published works differ from those for registration of unpublished works.

When a work is published, it may bear a notice of copyright to identify the year of publication and the name of the copyright owner and to inform the public that the work is protected by copyright. Copies of works published before March 1, 1989, must bear the notice or risk loss of copyright protection but this law was also modified slightly later on.

Examples of Copyrights

Copyrights include intellectual property such as but not exclusive of other forms of copyrights that exist that are not on this list. This list includes examples of most of the following and is not an all inclusive list of copyright forms;

Literary copyright(s);
Dramatic copyright(s);
Music copyright(s);
Poetry copyright(s);
Movie copyright(s);
Novel copyright(s);
Song copyright(s);
Lyrics copyright(s);
Computer software copyright(s) (programs);
Computer design copyright(s);
Architecture copyright(s);
Authorship copyright(s);
Photographic (photo) copyright(s);
Website copyright(s);
Screenplay copyright(s);
Further distribution copyright(s);
Perinstructional text copyright(s);
Test copyright(s);
Test answer copyright(s);
Atlas copyright(s);
Cassette tape copyright(s);
LP copyright(s);
45 r.p.m. copyright(s);
CD copyright(s);
DVD copyright(s);
Phonorecord copyright(s);
Newspapers copyright(s);
Periodical copyright(s);
Serial copyright(s);
Collection copyright(s);
Written music copyright(s);
Condensations public domain copyright(s);
Recast copyright(s);
Transformed copyright(s);
Adapted thermodifications copyright(s);
Fictionalizations copyright(s);
Directory copyright(s);

Chart copyright(s);
Blueprint copyright(s);
Illustrations copyright(s);
Text copyright(s);
Translation copyright(s);
Editorial revision copyright(s);
Compilation copyright(s);
Magazine copyright(s);
Book copyright(s);
Derivative works copyright(s);
Foreward copyright(s);
Editing copyright(s);
Critical annotation copyright(s);
Motion picture copyright(s);
Audio visual copyright(s);
Public display copyright(s);
Public performance copyright(s);
Technical copyright(s);
Creative works copyright(s);
Art work copyright(s);
Logo copyright(s);
Painting copyright(s);
Graphics copyright(s);
Content copyright(s);
Written copyright(s);
Domain name copyright(s);
Online copyright(s);
Artistic works copyright(s);
Sculpture copyright(s).
Data copyright(s);
Nonfiction copyright(s);
Arrangement of music copyright(s);
Copies copyright(s);
Visual with or without device copyright(s);
Manuscript copyright(s);
Sheet music copyright(s);
Video tape copyright(s);
Fixed sound copyright(s);
Audio tape copyright(s);
Phonographic disks copyright(s);
Musical, spoken or other sounds but not including motion picture or other audiovisual work copyright(s);
Written contract copyright(s);
Jewelry design copyright(s).

Why Get a Copyright?

Why get a copyright registered? A copyright is a form of protection provided by the Constitution to automatically protect the works that are fixed in a copy of some form. If a work is prepared over a period of time, the part of the work that is fixed on a medium on a particular page during its conception is protected until the completed date of the works is established. To the authors of "original works of authorship", including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, copyrights exist in both published and unpublished works. The registration of a copyright must be done within 3 months as of the time it is fixated for the works to keep its full rights under law. And to meet the manditory doposit of the works which is requred of most published works. There are essentially no exceptions with full protection of the law, but it would be advised to check the status on this matter with legal references as soon as urgently possible.Another alternative is to get it made into a registered copyright as soon as possible which means filing it with the government right away.

The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:

To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords;
To prepare derivative works based upon the initial author's works;
To distribute copies or phonorecord of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and
In the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.

In addition, certain authors of works of visual art have the rights of attribution and integrity (an object used in art as a symbol of that person). It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the copyright law to the owner of the copyright. These rights however, are not unlimited in scope. The 1976 Copyright Act establish limitations on these rights. In some cases it allows copyright uses and in others it prohibits them. These limitations are specified exemptions from copyright liability. One major limitation is the doctrine of "fair use," which is given a statutory basis. In another instance, the limitation takes the form of a "compulsory license": under which certain limited uses of copyrighted works are permitted upon payment of specified royalties and compliance with statutory conditions, for further information consult the copyright references.

NOTE: Sound recordings are defined in the law as works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work. Common examples include recordings of music, drama, or lectures. A sound recording is not the same as a phonorecord. A phonorecord is the physical object in which works of authorship are embodied. The word phonorecord: includes cassette tapes, CDs, LPs, 45 r.p.m. disks, as well as other formats.

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