Copyright is legal protection for the author of creative/original works, essentially this gives the author exclusive rights to reproduce, sell and broadcast the work. The laws are country specific, but many countries are signatory to The Berne Convention which gives reciprocal protection to other countries copyright works. This protection is normally automatic, no action or bureaucratic process is required by the author in order to 'copyright' the work.
What is Copyright Protection?
Copyright is a form of protection provided by law for authors of creative/orginal works. This can essentially cover any product of an individual/organisations skills, labour or judgement provided that it is both original and fixed in a material form. These laws and definitions may vary from country to country and this article is mainly concerned with UK/US laws in the context of visual artwork and images.
What is Protected
As mentioned above, essentially any original work that has been fixed in material form is protected.
What does copyright protect against
Copyright gives the author exclusive rights to the following:
To reproduce copies of the work.
To prepare derivative works based upon the work.
To distribute copies of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending
To display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works
In the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.
In other words, no other party can do any of the above without explicit permission from the author.
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