What is originality?

One of the two requirements for something to be entitled

tocopyright protection is that it must be original (the other requirement is
that the original work must be fixed in a tangible medium). This
essentially means that there must be some amount of creativity used in
creating the work - the author must have done some independent
creation. Obviously, if you simply copy a work, your copied work is not
entitled to protection because it is not original. Similarly, if your work
consists of nothing more than information from the public domain, you
cannot protect it with copyright.
However, this is a relatively easy standard to meet and the level of
creativity required for copyright protection is not very high. For example,
if you film a real world event, your movie can be protected by copyright
even though there may not be much creativity on your part. Similarly, a
tourist photograph of a landmark would be original, because the tourist
picked the angle, the framing, etc., even though many similar
photographs of the same landmark have been taken. The creation of a
telephone listing, however, does not meet this originality requirement
because there is not even a minimal level of creativity.
The originality requirement does not mean that you have to create
something that has never been created before (so there is no novelty
requirement, as there is in patent law). From a practical sense, this
means that there can be independent creation, where two people create
the same thing at the same time, and both authors will be entitled to
protection for their work (whereas patent law only awards patent
protection to one inventor).
While the originality requirement means there must be some minimal
amount of creativity, it does not mean that the work needs to have any
artistic merit. So a judgment of the works quality does not come into play
- the focus is simply on the works creation and the level of creativity
used.

What is fixation?
One of the two requirements for something to be entitled
tocopyright protection is that it must be fixed in a tangible medium(the
other requirement is that the fixed work must be original). This essentially
means that the work must be embodied in a copy which allows it to be
seen or copied by others. The fixation requirement is a relatively easy
standard to meet. Examples of sufficient fixation include writing
something on a piece of paper or typing something into a computer and
then saving/storing that information. Fixation does not include something
which is simply spoken, unless it was either previously written down or
the speech is being recorded (because the recording process fixes the
speech in a tangible medium). However, fixation does not have to be
directly perceptible by a person, it just has be capable of being perceived
with the help of a machine or device this is why fixation on a computer
disk or RAM is sufficient to meet this requirement, because a computer
can aid a user in perceiving that information.
For sounds or images which are being transmitted, fixation is at the time
of transmission if the sounds or images are also being recorded at that
time. So a live television show, of an NFL game for example, is generally
recorded at the same time it is being aired live, meaning the fixation
requirement is met and the live program can be protected by copyright.
Finally, while federal copyright law does not protect works which are not
fixed, common law (which is law made by the courts, rather than by
statute), may protect unfixed works.

What is a copyright?
A copyright is a legal right the government grants to the author of an
original work, such as a book or song, which gives the author
certain exclusive rights in that work. In other words, for a specific amount
of time, the owner of a copyright (generally, but not always, the author of
the work) can control how his work is used, copied, displayed, etc., and
prevent others from doing such things without the owners permission.
While the rights granted to a copyright owner are exclusive (meaning that
the owner, and the owner alone, can exercise those rights), there are
some predefined and limited exceptions. For example, one right granted
to a copyright owner is the exclusiveright to reproduce. Thus the owner of
a copyright in a book is the only one allowed to make copies of that book.
However, if you want to write a review of that book, you can copy a
paragraph from the book to include in your review without infringing the
copyright because this is fair use (one of the predefined exceptions to the
exclusive copyright rights).

What is a tangible medium?

The Copyright Act requires that a work of authorship be fixed in a tangible
medium. There are two categories of objects which qualify as tangible
medium - copies and phonorecords.
The Copyright Act defines a copy as any material object other than
phonorecords, which allows a work to be fixed so that they can later be
seen, copied or communicated, either directly or with the help of a device.
This is a broad definition that includes everything from books and
computer disks to wall carvings.
The Copyright Act defines a phonorecord as any material object which
allows sounds (except for the sounds that go with a movie or audiovisual
work) to be fixed so that they can later be heard, copied or
communicated. So phonorecords are albums, tapes, CDs, etc.

What is the difference between ideas and expressions?

One of the fundamental properties of copyright law is that only
expressions are protected, not ideas. For example, while the plot,
dialogue, images, etc. of The Matrix movies are protected by copyright

(because these are all expressions of an idea), the idea of a war between
computers and humans, or a virtual reality world being used as a prison,
is not protectable.

What works can be protected by copyright?

There are two initial requirements to protect a work as a copyright - it
must be an original expression and it must be fixed in a tangible medium.
As for what types of work can be protected, the Copyright Actdefines
eight broad categories. These eight categories are not exclusive, and
every once in a while something come up which does not fall neatly within
one of these categories - when this happens, the courts will typically
address the issue.
These eight categories are:
(1) Literary works;
(2) Musical works;
(3) Dramatic works;
(4) Pantomimes or choreographic works;
(5) Pictorial, graphic or sculptural works;
(6) Motion pictures or audiovisual works;
(7) Sound recordings; and
(8) Architectural works.
In addition to these eight categories, the Copyright Act also provides for
the protection ofcompilations (which includecollective works)
and derivative works.
For all of these categories, the focus is on the nature of the work, not on
the merit of quality of the work, in determining whether the work is
protectable.

What is the idea-expression dichotomy?

One of the fundamental properties of copyright law is that only

expressions are protected, not ideas. For example, while the plot,
dialogue, images, etc. of The Matrix movies are protected by copyright
(because these are all expressions of an idea), the idea of a war between
computers and humans, or a virtual reality world being used as a prison,
is not protectable. This property of copyright law, and the distinction
between ideas and expressions, is often referred to as the ideaexpression dichotomy.

What is the Creative Commons?

Many folks find the currentcopyright laws monolithic and old-fashioned,
particularly in light of the digital age. In an attempt to come up with a
new scheme of reasonable and workable copyright protection, Creative
Commons was created. As explained onwww.creativecommons.org, the
goal of this nonprofit is to allow content creators to reserve important
rights in their workswhile allowing and encouraging others to use the
works in ways that the current copyright regime doesnt necessarily allow
for with explicit permission from the author.
The most widespread aspect of the Creative Commons, to date, has been
the six creative common licenses.

What is a copy?
Within the context of copyrightlaw, a copy is any physical object, except
for a phonorecord, that stores or fixes copyrighted works (such as a book,
a film, a sculpture, a painting, etc.).

What is an author?
In terms of copyright law, an author is generally the person who creates a
work. The exception to this rule is when the work is a so-called work for
hire, in which case the author is deemed to be the creators employer. If
two or more people create a work together, they are joint authors of the
work.

What is a copyright?
A copyright is a legal right the government grants to the author of an
original work, such as a book or song, which gives the author
certain exclusive rights in that work. In other words, for a specific amount
of time, the owner of a copyright (generally, but not always, the author of
the work) can control how his work is used, copied, displayed, etc., and
prevent others from doing such things without the owners permission.
While the rights granted to a copyright owner are exclusive (meaning that
the owner, and the owner alone, can exercise those rights), there are
some predefined and limited exceptions. For example, one right granted
to a copyright owner is the exclusiveright to reproduce. Thus the owner of
a copyright in a book is the only one allowed to make copies of that book.
However, if you want to write a review of that book, you can copy a
paragraph from the book to include in your review without infringing the
copyright because this is fair use (one of the predefined exceptions to the
exclusive copyright rights).