According to U.S. Copyright Law, any original work, including books, music, movies, videos, computer programs, artwork
and designs, and patents, is legally protected. This protection extends to both published and unpublished works. In other words, anything that is created
is automatically covered under the copyright law, even if no paperwork is filed with the U.S. Copyright Office.
Only the author or owner of the copyrighted work can give permission to use, copy, distribute, or display it.
Section 106 of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 states [emphasis added]: |
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...the owner of copyright under
this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following: |
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to reproduce the copyrighted work
in copies or phonorecords;
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to prepare derivative works based
upon the copyrighted work;
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to distribute copies or phonorecords
of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership,
or by rental, lease, or lending;
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in the case of literary, musical, dramatic,
and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual
works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly;
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in the case of literary, musical, dramatic,
and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural
works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual
work, to display the copyrighted work publicly; and
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in the case of sound recordings, to
perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.*
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Before you distribute, copy, display or perform any copyrighted work, you must get permission from the copyright
holder, usually the original author.
* Library of Congress, Copyright Office. (September 2000). Copyright Basics. [Online]. www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html
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