Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
A
copyright
is how the US government provides authors with certain rights to original
works that they have written. The owner of a copyright has five principal rights:
1. The right to reproduce the copyrighted work
2. The right to distribute copies of the work to the public
3. The right to display copies of the work in public
4. The right to perform the work in public
5. The right to produce new works derived from the copyrighted work
Copyright owners have the right to authorize others to exercise these five rights
with respect to their works. The owner of a copyright to a play may sell a license to
a high school drama club that wishes to perform it. After a radio station broadcasts a
song, it must pay the songwriter(s) and the composer(s) through a performance rights
organization such as ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. Copyright owners also have the right to
prevent others from infringing on their rights to control the reproduction, distribution,
display, performance, and production of works derived from their copyrighted work.
By permission of John Deering and Creators Syndicate, Inc.
Several important industries in the United States, including the movie industry,
music industry, software industry, and book publishing, rely upon copyright law for
protection. “Copyright industries” account for over 6 percent of the United States gross
domestic product, with over $900 billion in sales. About 5 million US citizens work in
these industries, which are growing at a much faster rate than the rest of the US economy.
With foreign sales and exports of $134 billion, copyright industries were the leading
export sector in the United States in 2010 [24].
