Q. What is copyright?
Copyright means you can't steal over peoples work and pass it off as your own.
Answer
What is copyright?
Essentially, the right to:
- copy a work
- adapt a work
- make copies of a work available for distribution
- broadcast a work
- show, play or perform a work in public
What is covered under copyright law?
- any original work that has been written down or recorded in any form (it doesn't need to have been published)
- works copied using mobile technologies - including streamed materials, and material loaded onto an e-reader
- copyright doesn't have to be registered - it automatically exists
- thoughts and ideas aren't protected
- copyright on works made during a course of employment by an employee generally belongs to the employer unless specifically agreed otherwise (see ARU's IP policy)
How long does copyright last?
- generally, 70 years from the death of the author/creator (though bear in mind that these may be multiple)
- sound recordings: 70 years after their creation, broadcast or release
- typographic arrangements (including music scores): 25 years after creation
- work published in a country other than the EU or US may be subject to a shorter period of copyright (50 years)