Copyright is a kind of intellectual property that protects "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression." Although the word is often used in its singular form, copyright actually encompasses multiple rights (in fact, the federal statute that governs American copyright law, Title 17 of the U.S. Code, is titled "Copyrights"). "Original works of authorship" include a wide range of creative works, including books, poems, music, movies, photographs, paintings, recorded songs, etc.

In the United States, copyright holders are entitled to the following exclusive rights:

• Reproduce copies of a work
• Prepare derivative works based upon a work
• Distribute copies or transfer ownership of a work by sale, rental, lease, or lending
• Perform a work publicly (e.g., film screenings, live book readings, playing songs on the radio, etc.)
• Display a work publicly

These rights are exclusive, but copyright holders can authorize other people to exercise them.

Copyright protections automatically apply to any eligible work as soon as it is created (or "fixed" in a tangible medium of expression), which means that practically everyone is a copyright holder—and we also encounter and use copyrighted works all the time!

The underpinnings of American copyright law can be found in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which delegates to Congress the power "to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries."  This clause is known as the intellectual property clause, and it hints at the rationale behind the notion of copyright and other forms of intellectual property: that individuals will be motivated to innovate and create (in ways that benefit society as a whole) if they are rewarded with exclusive rights to their work. 

There are four types of intellectual property—copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret—that each protect different kinds of creations. Copyright protects “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression”; this definition can be broadly interpreted and is meant to encompass mediums and types of works that may not yet exist. For example, the legislators who established and enacted copyright laws would not have known about blog posts or YouTube videos, but creative works expressed in these mediums are nevertheless subject to copyright protection.

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Copyright is one of three types of intellectual property recognized by U.S. federal law; the other two kinds of intellectual property are patents and trademarks. (The fourth type of intellectual property, trade secrets, is governed by state law.) Copyright protects creative works.

In order to qualify for copyright, a work must meet two minimum criteria: originality and fixation. Originality requires that works be created by a human author (monkeys, dogs, bots, etc. cannot create copyrightable works, at least for now!) and involve at least a minimal amount of creativity. Fixation means that a work exists in a form so that it can be perceived, reproduced, or communicated for more than a short time.

Works that are not eligible for copyright include those produced by the government and those that do not meet the originality and fixation criteria.

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Copyright usually belongs to the creator(s) or author(s) of a work. If multiple people create a work, they co-own copyright jointly and equally, even if their contributions were unequal.

Copyright can also be transferred, sold, or inherited. Publishers and distributors are common copyright holders. If the original author of a work is deceased, their heirs may hold copyright. 

In certain situations where an employee creates a work, either as part of their regular job duties or as expressly agreed by contract, their employer owns copyright. These works are called "works for hire."

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Any sufficiently original work is automatically subject to copyright protections as soon as it is created and fixed in a tangible form. 

Since 1978, the term of copyright for any work has been set as the life of the author plus 70 years. Once a work's copyright term expires, it enters the public domain, meaning that no one can claim exclusive rights to its use and reproduction. There are some caveats and exceptions based on when a work was created; if or how it was published; and who authored it.

Find more detailed information about copyright terms and duration at the links below:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.