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THE DEFINITION OF COPYRIGHT
The exclusive and assignable legal right, given to
the originator for a fixed number of years, to
print, publish, perform, film, or record literary,
artistic, or musical material.

Copyright aims at providing protection to authors

(writers, artists, music composers, etc.) on their
creations. Such creations are usually
designated as “works”.
Copyright is applicable to certain forms of
creative work. Some, but not all
jurisdictions require "fixing" copyrighted
works in a tangible form. It is often shared
among multiple authors, each of whom
holds a set of rights to use or license the
work, and who are commonly referred to as
rights holders
 WHAT IS COVERED BY COPYRIGHT?
• Literary
• Reference Works
• Databases
• Newspaper articles
• Musical compositions
• Artistic Works
• Computer programs

• It is not however extend to ideas, but only the

expressions of thoughs.
DO YOU NEED TO ACCOMPLISH ANY FORMALITIES IN
ORDER TO BE PROTECTED?
Copyright protection is obtained automatically
without any need for registration or other
formalities. A work enjoys protection by
copyright as soon as it is created.
WHAT TYPES OF RIGHTS DOES COPYRIGHT PROVIDE?
There are two types of rights under copyright:

(a) Economic rights, which allow the owner to

derive financial reward from the use and
exploitation of the work; and

(b) Moral rights, which highlight the personal link

existing between the author and the work.
ECONOMIC RIGTHS
• reproduction

• distribution

• public performance

• broadcasting and communication to the

public

• translation

• adaptation
MORAL RIGTHS
• the right to have authorship recognized

• the right to integrity

HOW LONG DOES COPYRIGHT LAST?
• Copyright has a time limit: it usually lasts for
the life of the author and 50 years after his
death.

• Once the term has expired, the work is in the

“public domain”.
LEGAL USE WITHOUT COPYRIGHT
All works published in the United States before 1923 are in the
public domain.
Works published after 1922, but before 1978 are protected for
95 years from the date of publication. If the work was
created, but not published, before 1978, the copyright lasts
for the life of the author plus 70 years. However, even if the
author died over 70 years ago, the copyright in an
unpublished work lasts until December 31, 2002.
Copyrights can be granted by public law and
are in that case considered "territorial
rights". This means that copyrights granted
by the law of a certain state, do not extend
beyond the territory of that specific
jurisdiction. Copyrights of this type vary by
country; many countries, and sometimes a
large group of countries, have made
agreements with other countries on
procedures applicable when works "cross"
national borders or national rights are
inconsistent