Learn About Copyright

"Copyright" is the term used to describe a number of legal rights that exist in original literary, musical, dramatic or artistic works, and in sound recordings, films, broadcasts and other creative works. Under copyright laws, these rights are exclusive to the copyright owner, and enable the copyright owner to control how their work is used and to prevent unauthorized use. Copyright laws now allow copyright owners to prevent and control things like adaptation or public performance of the copyright work, inclusion of the work in a broadcast, or distribution of the work both physically and on the Internet.

Because the rights afforded by copyright law are exclusive to the copyright owner(s), you will infringe copyright if you do any of those things without the permission of the copyright owner(s). The best way to avoid copyright infringement is to ensure that you don't use anything created by anyone else. If you do use someone else's work, make sure you have the necessary permissions — this will usually take the form of a licence from the copyright owner(s), which you may have to pay for.

For information about copyright in your country, try your local copyright office via the WIPO directory. For information on copyright laws around the world, see the WIPO database.