What is copyright?

Copyright is a type of non-registered intellectual property. Copyright exists automatically in original:

• Written, dramatic, musical, or artistic works (including computer software)
• Sound and music recordings
• Films
• Communication works – broadcasted tv and radio
• Typographical arrangements – how words are arranged in a published edition

A work can be shown to be protected by copyright using the © symbol and the year the work was first created. But just because this isn’t present doesn’t mean the work is not protected by copyright! All original works are protected by copyright as soon as they are tangible. Copyright protects works for up to 50 years after the author’s death, depending on the type of work.