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What Is A Copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly.

The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine. Copyrights are registered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.

Questions About Intellectual Property? – Contact Us Today

Schwartz Law Firm, P.C., is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and represents clients throughout the United States and internationally. To speak to an experienced attorney about your patent, trademark or copyright matters, call us at 704-325-6099 or contact us online.

Source: The United States Patent and Trademark Office.