Copyright is designed to provide authors protection against unauthorized usage of their original creative work. Unfortunately, not everyone understands how it works. Let this infographic fill you in with the basics.

Copyright is a legal protection given to the authors of original and creative work, which is put in a tangible form.

Different type of works that can be protected under copyright is

• Literary works like poems, thesis, fictional characters plays etc.,
• Music and accompanying words are granted to the musical composers and/or lyricist who put their work in the form of sheet music or in the form of recorded medium like a cassette, CDs, DVDs or the like
• Drama and accompanying music are usually referred to a work of action performed before audience/public. The drama can be with or without dialogues and/or background music
• Pantomimes and Choreography are the similar type of art where Choreography is a composition of dance steps or movements usually performed with music, whereas Pantomimes is an art of imitating or replicating a situation, character or events. These need not be presented in public but should be in a tangible medium of expression
• Motion pictures and audio-visuals are a series of related images which gives an impression of moving picture when shown in progression with sounds
• Sound recordings are explained as “works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds but not including sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work.”
• Architecture copyright is an original design of a construction created on any tangible medium of expression which includes, building plans, models, or drawings

Works without good enough original creativity such as titles, Names, Short Phrases, Slogans, familiar symbols, font designs, ingredients etc., CANNOT be copyrighted

The owner of a copyright will have Reproduction rights, distribution rights, derivative work rights, and performance and display rights

Duration of copyright protection

If it’s a Single owner the rights last for the entire life of the original author plus 70 years after the death of the author

If it’s a joint ownership, the rights last for the entire life plus 70 years after the death of the last surviving author

For “made for hire, anonymous and pseudonymous” owners the rights last for 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter