What is a copyright?
A copyright is a mark that indicates a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (Title 17 of the U.S. Code) to authors of original works of authorship that are fixed in tangible forms of expression. These include literary, dramatic, musical, and certain other intellectual works, such as computer programs and Web sites. A copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.
Copyright is defined as the exclusive right of a creator to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute, perform, display, sell, lend or rent their creations. While copyright protection technically exists once a work is reduced to writing (or any other tangible medium), a copyright must be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before a party may sue in federal court for its infringement. Even more important, perhaps, is that those who register their copyrights immediately, or within three months of publication, can also get statutory damages and attorneys fees for any infringement. The copyright symbol is only given its real teeth once the work its affixed to is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Our fee for the Copyright My Work service includes all applicable federal filing costs and expenses.
A copyright is the grant of protection by the laws of the United States to the authors of ‘original works’ including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, architectural and certain other intellectual works, and is available for both published and unpublished works. An owner has the exclusive right to authorize others to reproduce the work; create derivative works; distribute copies of the work; perform the copyrighted work publicly, display the work publicly, and if it is a sound recording, perform the work publicly. Software may be copyrighted, but may also, in certain circumstances, be protected by a patent.
