Copyright

Copyright is a legal right that gives creators control over certain uses of original works, including reproduction, distribution, adaptation, and public performance or display.

Copyrightable Subject Matter: Categories of original expression that copyright law can protect, such as books, music, films, and software. Copyright attaches to qualifying works, not ideas or facts alone.
Trademark: A sign that identifies the source of goods or services and distinguishes them from competitors. Trademark protects source-identifying signs, unlike copyright’s protection of creative expression.
Creative Commons: A nonprofit organization providing standardized licenses that let creators grant public permissions for their works. Its licenses communicate reusable permissions while preserving selected copyright conditions.
Statute of Anne: An English statute enacted in 1710 that established a limited-term copyright system for authors and booksellers. It is a landmark shift from publishers’ privileges toward statutory author rights.
Public Lending Right: A system that compensates authors for the public lending of their books by libraries. It balances free library access with payments to authors in some countries.
Idea–Expression Distinction: The principle that copyright protects an author’s expression of an idea, not the idea itself. It marks the boundary between protected creative choices and freely usable concepts.
Patent: A time-limited exclusive right granted for a qualifying invention in exchange for public disclosure. Patent law can protect functional inventions, which copyright generally does not.
Public Performance Right: The exclusive right to perform a copyrighted work publicly, including certain broadcasts and streamed performances. Music venues and broadcasters often need permission under this specific right.
Printing Press: A technology for producing multiple copies of text efficiently using movable type or other printing methods. Mass reproduction created the practical conditions for regulating copying.
Copyright Term Extension Act: A 1998 United States law that extended copyright terms for existing and future works. Its extension delayed the entry of many works into the public domain.

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