Copyright:
Legal monopoly that protects published or unpublished original work (for the duration of its author’s life plus 50 years) from unauthorized duplication without due credit and compensation. Copyright covers not only books but also advertisements, articles, graphic designs, labels, letters (including emails), lyrics, maps, musical compositions, product designs, etc. According to the major international intellectual-property protection treaties (Berne Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and WIPO Copyright Treaty)
Five rights are associated with a copyright: the right to:
(1) Reproduce the work in any form, language, or medium.
(2) Adapt or derive more works from it.
(3) Make and distribute its copies.
(4) Perform it in public.
(5) Display or exhibit it in public. To acquire a valid copyright, a work must have originality and some modicum of creativity. However, what is protected under copyright is the ‘expression’ or ’embodiment’ of an idea, and not the idea itself. A copyright is not equivalent of legal-prohibition of plagiarism (which is an unethical and unprofessional conduct, but not an offense), and does not apply to factual information.
