Editing Copyright (section)

{{Short description|Legal concept regulating rights of a creative work}}
{{Distinguish|Copywriting}}
{{About|the legal right|the symbol|Copyright symbol|the band|Copyright (band)|the Wikipedia policy|:Wikipedia:Copyrights|and|selfref=yes}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{pp-move}}

{{Use American English|date=September 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Intellectual property}}

A '''copyright''' is a type of [[intellectual property]] that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a [[creative work]], usually for a limited time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of copyright |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/copyright |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160929180424/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/copyright |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 September 2016 |publisher=[[Oxford Dictionaries (website)|Oxford Dictionaries]] |access-date=20 December 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Definition of Copyright |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/copyright |dictionary=[[Merriam-Webster]] |access-date=20 December 2018 |language=en }}</ref><ref>Nimmer on Copyright, vol. 2, §&nbsp;8.01.</ref><ref>"Intellectual property", ''Black's Law Dictionary'', 10th ed. (2014).</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |url=https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_909_2016.pdf |title=Understanding Copyright and Related Rights |website=World Intellectual Property Organization |page=4 |access-date=6 December 2018 }}</ref> The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/faqs/copyright-basics/ |title=Copyright Basics FAQ |last=Stim |first=Rich |website=The Center for Internet and Society Fair Use Project |publisher=Stanford University |access-date=21 July 2019 |date=27 March 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bitlaw.com/copyright/unprotected.html#ideas |title=Works Unprotected by Copyright Law |publisher=Bitlaw |author=Daniel A. Tysver }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://digital-law-online.info/lpdi1.0/treatise9.html |title=Legal Protection of Digital Information |page=''Chapter 1: An Overview of Copyright'', Section II.E. Ideas Versus Expression |author=Lee A. Hollaar }}</ref> A copyright is subject to [[Limitations and exceptions to copyright|limitations]] based on public interest considerations, such as the [[fair use]] doctrine in the United States and [[fair dealings]] doctrine in the United Kingdom.

Some jurisdictions require "fixing" copyrighted works in a tangible form. It is often shared among multiple authors, each of whom holds a set of rights to use or license the work, and who are commonly referred to as rights holders.<ref>{{Citation |title=Copyright |publisher=University of California |year=2014 |url=http://copyright.universityofcalifornia.edu/ownership/joint-works.html |access-date=15 December 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jetlaw.org/publish/journal-conventions/ |title=Journal Conventions |website=Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law |access-date=7 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313001457/http://www.jetlaw.org/publish/journal-conventions/ |archive-date=13 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Sports Marketing Agreements: Legal, Fiscal and Practical Aspects |first=Ian S. |last=Blackshaw |date=20 October 2011 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kz1F6uAHtaEC |via=Google Books |isbn=9789067047937 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Publishing Forms and Contracts |first=Roy |last=Kaufman |date=16 July 2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xD_iBwAAQBAJ |via=Google Books |isbn=9780190451264 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1839527 |title=Significance of Fixation in Copyright Law |date=2011 |last1=Ahmad |first1=Tabrez |last2=Snehil |first2=Soumya |website=SSRN |ssrn=1839527 |access-date=7 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603211523/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1839527 |archive-date=3 June 2018}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=December 2020|reason=Ref. 1 describes US situation only, ref. 2 does not link to any content relevant to this article, ref. 3 is only related to sports, not suitable to use for a general article, ref. 4 is a standardised form with an agreement written for US jurisdiction, not suitable as reference}} These rights normally include reproduction, control over [[derivative work]]s, distribution, [[Performing rights|public performance]], and [[moral rights]] such as attribution.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Copyright Basics |url=https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |publisher=U.S. Copyright Office |access-date=20 February 2019 }}</ref>

Copyrights can be granted by public law and are in that case considered "territorial rights". This means that copyrights granted by the law of a certain state do not extend beyond the territory of that specific jurisdiction. Copyrights of this type vary by country; many countries, and sometimes a large group of countries, have made agreements with other countries on procedures applicable when works "cross" national borders or national rights are inconsistent.<ref name="International Copyright Law Survey">{{cite web |url=http://worldcopyrightlaw.com/copyrightsurvey |title=International Copyright Law Survey |date=13 October 2021 |publisher=Mincov Law Corporation }}</ref>

Typically, the public law [[Copyright term|duration of a copyright]] expires 50 to 100 years after the creator dies, [[List of countries' copyright lengths|depending on the jurisdiction]]. Some countries require certain [[copyright formalities]]<ref name=":3" /> to establishing copyright, others recognize copyright in any completed work, without a formal registration. When the copyright of a work expires, it enters the [[public domain]].