- Copyright covers "original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture." However, copyright does not cover facts, ideas or names.
- Copyright automatically covers all tangible works of authorship. You can register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. Registration makes it easier to prove you own the copyright if you become involved in a copyright-infringement situation.
- Generally, someone can use small portions of a copyrighted work without permission for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching and research. This is called fair use. Four factors help determine whether a use is fair: the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, how much of the work is used in relation to the whole copyrighted work, and how the use affects the value of or the potential market for the copyrighted work.
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