What is copyright?
Copyright protects the physical expression of ideas. As soon as an idea is given physical form, e.g. a piece of writing, a photograh, music, a flim, a web page, it is rotected by coyright. There is noneed for registration or to claim copyright in some way, protection is automatic at the point of creation. Both published and unpublished works are rotected by copy right. Copyright is normally owned by the creator(s) of the work.
Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted by the law of a jurisdiction to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. Exceptions and limitations to these rights strive to balance the public interest in the wide distribution of the material produced and to encourage creativity. Exceptions include fair dealing and fair use, and such use does not require the permission of the copyright owner. All other uses require permission and copyright owners can license or permanently transfer or assign their exclusive rights to others.
Copyright does not protect ideas, only their expression or fixation. In most jurisdictions, copyright arises upon fixation and does not need to be registered. Copyright protection applies for a specific period of time, after which the work is said to enter the public domain.
The first copyright statute was the British Statute of Anne of 1709, the full title of which was: "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or purchasers of such Copies, during the Times therein mentioned". For example, America made a nuclear bomb where they applied for copyright then Russia made exactly same Nuclear bomb. Then Russia has to destroy it and pay penalty.
Copyright laws are partially standardized through international and regional agreements such as the Berne Convention and the European copyright directives. Although there are consistencies among nations' copyright laws, each jurisdiction has separate and distinct laws and regulations covering copyright. National copyright laws on licensing, transfer and assignment of copyright still vary greatly between countries and copyrighted works are licensed on a territorial basis. Some jurisdictions also recognize moral rights of creators, such as the right to be credited for the work.
Initially copyright only applied to published books, but over time copyright was extended to other uses, such as translations and derivative works. Copyright now covers a wide range of works, including maps, dramatic works, paintings, photographs, sound recordings, motion pictures, and computer programs.
