What should you copyright

Business Management. A demand letter is your first step toward resolving a small claims dispute. Privacy Rights. A case of nasty emails and one company's desire to track down the sender offers a lesson in your first amendment rights. Struggling with a heavy debt load? As copyright infringement becomes more common, owners are becoming more aggressive in protecting their rights by issuing copyright infringement notices.

Types of Works The following types of works are allowed protection under the copyright law: Literary Works. This can include novels, nonfiction works, poems, articles, essays, directories, advertising, catalogs, speeches, and computer programs.

Musical Works. This category includes both the musical notation and the accompanying words. Dramatic Works. This type includes plays, operas, scripts, screenplays, and any accompanying music. Pantomimes and Choreographic Works. Popular dance steps are not included in this type of work.

Pictorial, Graphic, and Sculptural Works. Works included are sketches, drawings, cartoons, paintings, photographs, slides, greeting cards, architectural and engineering drawings, maps, charts, globes, sculptures, jewelry, glassware, models, tapestries, fabric designs, and wallpapers. Motion Pictures and Other Audiovisual Works. These include movies, videos, and film strips. Most countries nonetheless have a system in place to allow for the voluntary registration of works.

Please note that WIPO does not offer a copyright registration system or a searchable copyright database. Find out more about copyright registration and documentation systems. Using WIPO PROOF complements voluntary copyright registration systems by offering creators the possibility of recording and digitally certifying possession of the work. This digitally encrypted proof, which cannot be modified, can certify the existence of the work at a moment in time.

In the past, some countries had legislation in place that required the copyright holder to comply with certain formalities in order to receive copyright protection. Currently, very few countries still impose formalities on copyright, therefore the use of such symbols is no longer a legal requirement. Economic rights have a time limit, which can vary according to national law.

Longer periods of protection may however be provided at the national level. Whilst there may be nuances to the particular national laws applicable in these states, in general there is a high degree of harmony. When we consider states that are not party to the Berne Convention, you must remember that copyright laws are territorial. In other words, they apply within the country in which they were passed.

As such, if you wish to protect your work internationally, you must research and make sure that you comply with the relevant legal requirements in the country ies in which you wish your work to be protected.

Once you are the right owner of a work, you can provide authorization for others to use or exploit your work. Naturally, it is always recommended to seek expert legal advice before negotiating a licensing agreement. If you wish to license your work to users such as broadcasters, publishers, or even entertainment establishments i.

CMOs monitor uses of works on behalf of creators and publishers and are in charge of negotiating licenses and collecting remuneration. They are particularly common in the field of musical and literary works where there may be a large number of users of the same work and it would be difficult both for the owner of rights and the users to seek specific authorization for every single use and to monitor them.

Computer programs and other types of software are considered as literary works for copyright purposes. Therefore they receive automatic protection without the need for registration. In some countries, the process of voluntary registration for software may differ from that for other types of work. This is because, as a general rule, copyright protection is automatic and does not depend on registration.

Although it may not affect copyright protection, some countries do require a deposit of samples of printed materials published in that country. Contact your national IP office to find out more. Before taking any steps, you should carefully assess whether the reproduction is in fact an infringement of your copyright refer to the question on limitations and exceptions to copyright.

If you consider that there is an infringement of your right, you should try to identify the person responsible. If it is impossible or inappropriate to solve the problem by informal means, you can seek a legal remedy from a court or other authority. It is usually possible to bring a claim before a civil court for monetary compensation and also to prevent the continuation or repetition of the infringement.

Alternatively, if the unauthorized reproduction amounts to the criminal offence of copyright piracy, a complaint may be submitted to the police, public prosecutor or other competent authority in accordance with applicable local law. Overview Copyright protects your work and stops others from using it without your permission. How copyright protects your work Copyright prevents people from: copying your work distributing copies of it, whether free of charge or for sale renting or lending copies of your work performing, showing or playing your work in public making an adaptation of your work putting it on the internet Copyright overseas Your work could be protected by copyright in other countries through international agreements, for example the Berne Convention.

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Explore the topic Patents, trade marks, copyright and designs Copyright. Is this page useful? Copyright is a federal law. It is Title 17 of the United States Code. Copyright is the right of authors to control the use of their work for a limited period of time. A copyrighted work must be an original work of authorship which is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is responsible for overseeing the administrative functions of the copyright law.

Congress enacts copyright laws. The Federal courts interpret and enforce the copyright law. Eight categories of works are copyrightable: Literary, musical and dramatic works. Pantomimes and choreographic works. Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works. Sound recordings. Motion pictures and other AV works.