Copyrights:
*Please be advised that this is merely a short summary of only part of the law on this subject. The law changes on a regular basis and it would be proper to confirm this information with the current statutes now applicable under the law.
United States Code Title 17 governs the protection of "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, otherwise known as Copyright protection. This protection applies to both published and unpublished works and includes the following privileges:
1) the right to reproduce the work in copies and phonorecords;
2) the right to prepare derivative works based upon the work;
3) the right to distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
4) the right to perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
5) the right to display the work publicly, 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; and
6) in the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.
A copyright for works created after January 1, 1978 generally has a term of the life of the author plus 70 years. However, if the work was made anonymously, under a pseudonym, or a work made for hire, the copyright will have protection for a term of 95 years from the year of its first publication or 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first.
One major limitation to the Copyright Laws of the United States is the Fair Use Doctrine which is given its authority under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.