RESPONSE: What is Copyright Protection?

     One question I get asked quite often from friends is, “what is copyright protection”. Since I constantly get asked this question, I figured I should share my response online and refer many who ask about ‘copyright protection’ to my blog to get a better understanding about copyright protection (great idea, right?). Now, I will not be providing a full detailed ‘college course’ about copyright protection. However, I’m going to provide some of the basics many need to know about copyright protection. If anyone would like to learn more about copyright protection, I strongly recommend  that you do some extended research online and read many different copyright protection books out there. One great copyright protection book that could be of a big help if your  looking to learn more about copyright protection is Patents, Copyrights & Trademarks For Dummies by Henri J. A. Charmasson and John Buchaca. Also, getting a copy of the Copyright Basics from the Library of Congress could help, as well.

What is copyright protection?

     Under Federal law, copyright protection protects “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression.”  Copyright protection does not protect mere ideas or concepts. In order for any work, to be protected under copyright:

• The “work” has to be original and creative.
• The work has to be something “tangible,” i.e. physical. For example, if someone were to create a song in their head. The song will need to be written down or record (even a bad take of the song is fine, too) in order for the work (song) to be protected under copyright protection. 

What does Copyright Protection protect?

     Another thing to remember about copyright protection is that if someone was to think of/create something creative and original and decides to fix that creation into a physical form. Then, depending on the type of work, it will be assigned with a number of particular copyrights (what is being protected under copyright protection).  Those rights may include, which is also known as RP-3D:

RP-3D

•  R - Reproduce: the right to reproduce the work. Remember that song that was created and made tangible, well now it is protected under copyright with regards to any reproductions of the song. For instance, if someone were to reproduce a copyrighted song without permission. They could be penalized with legal force because they are infringing on copyrighted material. This same concept applies to the 4 additional forms of copyright protection down below;
• P - Perform: the right to perform the work publicly.
• D - Derivative: the right to make derivative works based on that work.
• D - Distribute: the right to sell & distribute copies of the work to the public.
• D - Display: the right to display the work publicly (i.e., paintings, sculptures, etc.). 

     There are many other factors to consider regarding Copyright Protection. As I mentioned before, I was not going to be diving deep into the concepts of copyright protection. I simply wanted to provide to many inquiring minds a basic of understanding of what is copyright protection and what is protected under copyright protection. Again, I strongly recommend that anyone wanting to know more copyright protection to do some extensive research online and check out Patents, Copyrights & Trademarks For Dummies by Henri J. A. Charmasson and John Buchaca, and Copyright Basics from the Library of Congress to get a more in-depth understanding of copyright protection. Understanding the purpose of copyright protection and how it works in the entertainment industry could help many wanting to protect their work (i.e, artist, companies, managers, records labels, sculptors, photographers, writers, and many other creative individuals).