Copyright gives the author (or copyright holder) the right to prevent others from performing any of the actions assigned to the copyright holder by law: for example, copying (in all media), publishing, licensing, duplicating, broadcasting, making the work available to the public, publishing, public performance, creating adaptations, etc. This means that in order to do one of these actions, the rights holder’s approval must be obtained.
Copyright protects only original works. An original work is a work that the creator created himself (and the work was not copied from someone else). In addition, the law requires a minimum personal investment and creativity in the work. Further, original works are divided into five types:
1) Literary works – for example, texts;
2) Works of art – for example, paintings;
3) Dramatic works – for example, films;
4) Musical works – for example, melodies;
5) Recordings (for example, records / discs / tapes).
On the other hand, copyright will never apply to ideas, processes and methods of execution, mathematical concepts, facts or data and news today.
As a rule, for most types of works the copyright exists from the moment the work is created for the entire life of the author as well as seventy years after his death, so that the author can bequeath this right to others. The work then becomes public domain.
In addition to copyright, the creator has the moral right, which includes both the right to prevent the distortion of the work and the right to attribute (credit) to the extent appropriate according to the circumstances of the case. This right will forever remain the author’s, even if that copyright has been transferred to a third party who is not the author. However, the creator may waive this right in a written agreement.