An intellectual property right that protects original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. Copyright protection does not extend to ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, or discoveries. In the US, copyright law is governed by the federal Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. §§ 101-810).

Copyright owners generally enjoy certain exclusive rights, including the right to:

Copyright protection automatically commences when a protected work is first fixed in a tangible medium (for example, written on paper, stored in computer memory, or recorded on film) and lasts for a set period, most often the life of the author plus 70 years. Registration of a copyright with the US Copyright Office is not required to secure a copyright, although registration provides additional benefits.

For further information, see Practice Note, Copyright: Overview.