Copyright protects “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy for the first time. More...
Copyright Protected
- literary works
- musical works, including any accompanying words
- dramatic works, including any accompanying music
- pantomimes and choreographic works
- pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
- motion pictures and other audiovisual works
- sound recordings
- architectural works
Generally Not Copyright Protected
- works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded)
- titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation,lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents
- ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts,principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from adescription, explanation, or illustration
- works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (forexample: standard calendars, height and weight charts,tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken frompublic documents or other common sources)
