Not all countries operate copyright law in the same way - and the USA is one of them
KEY POINTS
  • Copyright is a form of intellectual property law
  • The protection afforded by Copyright law is grounded in the U.S. Constitution.
  • Copyright relates to "original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression". These can be published or unpublished works.
  • The USA has agreements about with most countries throughout the world and honors the copyright of citizens of countries with which it has an agreement. However, the United States does not have such copyright relationships with every country.
  • The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) seeks to protect the moral rights of visual artists and grants them. (These are protected elsewhere for signatories to the Berne Convention).
Exclusive rights of the copyright owner (section 106 , title 17, U.S. Code):
  1. To reproduce the work
  2. To prepare derivative works
  3. To distribute copies or phono records of the work to the public by sale, rental, lease, or lending
  4. In the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the work publicly
  5. In the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly
  6. In the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission. This is quoted here in order to avoid any misinterpretation
WHAT IS PROTECTED?

The works which can be protected include those which are literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. 

That means it covers paintings, drawings, fine art prints, poetry, novels, films, songs, computer software, and architecture.
WHAT IS NOT PROTECTED?

Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation.

However it is possible to protect the way these things are expressed - in some tangible form.
WHEN DOES COPYRIGHT START?

Copyright protection starts from the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. 

So if you have an idea for a painting that's not protected. However if you create a painting from your idea then that is protected.

Official websites

Practical advice
 
Patent, Copyright & Trademark: An Intellectual Property Desk Reference 13th Edition
by Richard Stim

​This Guide is promoted as a plain english guide to copyright law. Previous editions of this guide have also been top rated by many people and over 250,000 copies have been sold!
This book ONLY covers USA law.

It does two things - it focuses on the law and at the same time removes the gobbledygook from the language. This guide provides:
  • clear summaries of how the relevant law defines copyright ownership and associated rights
  • details of the protection offered by patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets
  • a plain-English definition of every intellectual property term you're likely to come across, and
  • a well organised book with extensive cross-references
The number of revised editions - this is the 15th - speaks as to its success in delivering the sort of information people want to know about.

​Paperback: 608 pages
Publisher: NOLO
Edition: 15th edition
Published: December 30, 2017

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