Literary Works
Copyright protects literary works of all types from novels such as Gone With the Wind or The Catcher in the Rye, to text books and other fact-based accounts, including newspapers. Although copyright covers the expression in non-fiction works, it does not cover the facts themselves. They are uncopyrightable and can be freely used by anyone. Copyright in the literary works also covers printed speeches such as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" speech. Today, even computer programs are protected as literary works.Musical Works
Copyright covers all kinds of music from the songs performed on the radio to the music in television commercials and MTV.Dramatic Works
Copyright covers every kind of permanently fixed dramatic work from senior plays such as Our Town performed by high schools, to such current Broadway blockbusters as Phantom of the Opera, M. Butterfly, or the latest Neil Simon offering. It covers those plays written especially for the theater like Arthur Miller's classic Death of a Salesman and also those based on other popular works like the adaptation of Kafka's short story Metamorphosis.Pantomimes and Choreographic Works:
Copyright protects dance sequences in stage shows like Chorus Line or Cats if they are in tangible form.Pictorial, Graphic, and Sculptural Works
Works created by sculptors, photographers, painters, and other graphic artists are protected by copyright. The works covered include not only paintings, photographs, and sculptures, but also advertisements, the artwork on game boards, and the artwork on fabrics or textiles.Motion Pictures and other Audiovisual Works
Classics like The Wizard of Oz or the latest Steven Spielberg or Woody Allen film are protectible, as are television programs and ideograms, including the once very popular Pac Man and the currently popular Nintendo games.Sound Recordings
The copyright law was amended in 1971 to include sound recordings. Copyright now protects the latest recording of your favorite artists in any format, including records, compact disks, tape, cassette, and digital formats. The copyright authorship protected in a sound recording is two-fold: it covers the contribution of both the performer and the record producer responsible for the recording.How Long is a Work Protected?
The 1790 copyright act provided only a fourteen year term. Mark Twain was one of the authors who persuaded Congress that the term should be longer. In 1909, the term was extended to protect authors for a twent-eight year term plus a possibility of twenty-eight more years if the author renewed his or her claim in a timely fashion. Then in 1976, the term was extended again to its current length: the life of the author plus seventy years. Special rules apply to works created by employees as part of their jobs such as motion pictures and anonymous or pseudonymous works.When the term of the protection expires on a particular work, it may be used freely by anyone.
A work copyrighted in the United States is protected here as well as in all of the other countries with whom we have copyright relations by our membership in the two multilateral copyright treaties--the Universal Copyright Convention and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, by presidential proclamation, or bilateral relations. The United States has copyright relations with over 100 countries.
It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided to the owners of the intellectual property by patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
