Copyright

The exclusive legal right to reproduce and control an original literary, musical or artistic work.

• Protects original written works, computer programs, music, art and designs, photographs videos, movies, broadcasts, tape recordings, and CDs.
• Protects them whatever format they are available in - including online.
• Comes into effect immediately, no need for registration.
• The copyright owner can legally prevent others copying her work, issuing copies to the public e.g by selling, making an adaptation of the work, such as writing a film script from a book, performing, playing, showing or broadcasting the work in public.
• Protection lasts for a certain term of years, depending on the kind of work and the country; for instance, in New Zealand, a written work is copyright for the lifetime of the author and another 50 years.
• Once the term of copyright has expired, the work falls into the public domain for anyone to use.