Copyright
Copyright is defined as the right of the author of intellectual property. Simply put, it is the right to copy material. This means that the original authors of products and any person given authorization are the only ones who have the exclusive right to reproduce the work.
Copyright law gives authors of original work the exclusive right to use and copy that material for a particular amount of time; after that, the copyrighted material becomes public domain [Investopedia].
Copyright is a form of intellectual property protecting the original authorship materials immediately as an author fixes his work in a material form of expression. There are many works in copyright law, for example, paintings, photographs, illustrations, musical compositions, sound recordings, computer programs, books, poems, blog posts, movies, architectural works, plays, etc. [Copyright.gov].
Until the middle of the 16th century, authors had no protection against plagiarism and pirating. When this became a severe issue, printers’ guilds were granted rights to protect their members. The first English copyright law dates from 1709 and marks a fundamental shift in perceptions of authorship. Since then, various amendments and pieces of updated legislation have sought to consolidate copyright law under internationally agreed criteria. Under the 1956 Act, the copyright covered an author’s lifetime fifty years later. The 1988 Act states that copyright lasts until seventy years after the author’s death. However, fast-moving internet and electronic media developments have put a good strain on traditional intellectual property rights [Cuddon, p. 158].
Copyright is a term in law describing ownership or control of the rights to the use and distribution of particular works of creative expression. Historically, copyright law has been enacted to balance the desire of cultures to use and reuse creative works and to monetize their work by controlling who can make and sell copies of the work [TechTarget].
Copyright law applies to a wide range of intellectual property, for example [TheBalanceSmallBusiness]:
Writings. For example, books, articles, reviews, poems, etc.
Website contents. For example, text, pictures, graphics, page layout, etc.
Motion pictures or audio. For example, movies, TV programs, podcasts, etc.
Music. For example, lyrics and instrumentals, both recorded and performed
Artistic works. For example, paintings, photography, drawings, sculptures, graphics, etc.
Original architectural designs. For example, designs for municipal, commercial, and residential buildings, bridges, highways, etc.
In simple terms, copyright is a legally secured right to reproduce, distribute, and perform literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic material [Britannica Online Encyclopedia].
⠀ Copyright. Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/copyright.
⠀ Cuddon J.A. (2013). A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell.
⠀ What is copyright? TheBalanceSmallBusiness. Retrieved from: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/copyright-definition-2948254.