Copyright law is a legal system that grants exclusive rights to creators for a limited period of time, to protect their original works of authorship (such as literary, musical, dramatic, artistic, and other intellectual works) from unauthorized use. These exclusive rights, known as "copyrights," allow creators to control how their works are used and to profit from their creations.
Under copyright law, creators have the exclusive right to do and authorize others to do the following:
reproduce their work;
prepare derivative works based on their work;
distribute copies of their work to the public;
perform their work publicly; and
display their work publicly.
Copyright law is based on the principle that creators should be rewarded for their efforts and that the public should be able to access and use creative works. To balance these interests, copyright law establishes a set of exclusive rights for creators, but also includes certain limitations and exceptions that allow others to use copyrighted works without the creator's permission, including "fair use." Fair use allows for the limited use of copyrighted materials without the permission of the copyright holder for certain purposes, such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Whether a particular use is considered fair use depends on a number of factors, including the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used, and the effect of the use on the potential market for the work.
Copyright law is governed by federal law in the United States, and it is administered by the U.S. Copyright Office. Copyright protection applies automatically to original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible form (such as a book, photograph, or computer file). However, creators can register their works with the Copyright Office to obtain certain legal benefits, such as the ability to sue for copyright infringement and to recover statutory damages and attorneys' fees.