What Is a Copyright?

A Copyright is a form of protection provided to authors of "original works of authorship," including literary, artistic, musical, dramatic, and certain other tangible works.The owner of the copyright generally has the exclusive right to reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords, to prepare derivative works based on the work, and to distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership. With respect to literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic works, pantomimes, audiovisual works and similiar artistic works, the owner of the copyright generally has the exclusive right to publicly display and perform the work.

Copyright protection may also extend to pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works. The following is a list of such works: