Copyright is protection established by U.S. Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) that provides authors of "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression," exclusive rights to how their work is used. These works can include broad categories of literary works, musical works, dramatic works, pantomimes and choreographic works, pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, motion pictures and other audiovisual works, sounds recordings, and architectural works. Copyright protection takes effect immediately once a work has been fixed in a tangible form, registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is not necessary. Copyright protection is available for both published and unpublished works. See our Copyright Resources page for more help with this topic.
