The U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 - 810, is Federal legislation enacted by Congress under its Constitutional grant of authority to protect the writings of authors. See U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8. Changing technology has led to an ever expanding understanding of the word "writings". The Copyright Act now reaches architectural design, software, the graphic arts, motion pictures, and sound recordings. Given the scope of the Federal legislation and its provision precluding inconsistent state law, the field is almost exclusively a Federal one.
A copyright gives the owner the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute,
perform, display, or license his work. The owner also receives the
exclusive right to produce or license derivatives of his or her work.
Limited exceptions to this exclusivity exist for types of "fair use",
such as book reviews. To be covered by copyright a work must be original
and in a concrete "medium of expression." Under current law, works
are covered whether or not a copyright notice is attached and whether
or not the work is registered.
Copyrights cover the following: literary,
musical and dramatic works, periodicals, maps, works of art (including
models), art reproductions, sculptural works, technical drawings, photographs,
prints (including labels), movies and other audiovisual works, computer
programs, compilations of works and derivative works, and architectural
drawings.
