Copyrights are vital parts of the world of intellectual property. Alongside patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, copyrights round out a wide range of critical pieces of intellectual property that afford a bevy of rights to individuals for their hard work and creations. So what are trademarks exactly and what do you need to know about such an important part of our world?
Copyrights are reserved for people who create original works in a tangible form. This doesn’t mean that the works need to be published, however that helps of course. Someone who is granted a copyright then is given the exclusive right to reproduce, republish, and sell the work of authorship. The copyright only covers the “form of material expression” not the concepts or ideas included in the original work. This is why it needs to be in a tangible form.
You can, as a copyright holder, permit people to utilize your copyrighted material. You can even pass your rights on to someone else. Alternatively, you can deny other people the ability to use your original work as part of the rights granted to you via the copyright.
There are many other intricacies to copyrights and the laws related to them that anyone who has an original work and is considering obtaining a copyright should discuss the matter with an attorney with experience in intellectual property law. The application process for a copyright can be confusing, so having legal counsel by your side can be helpful.
Source: FindLaw, “What Is a Copyright?,” Accessed Feb. 12, 2018