What is copyright?Copyright is a protection that covers published and unpublished literary,scientific and artistic works,whatever the form of expression,provided such works are fixed in a tangible or material form.This means that if you can see it,hear it and/or touch it - it may be protected.If it is an essay,if it is a play,if it is a song,if it is a funky original dance move,if it is a photograph,HTML coding or a computer graphic that can be set on paper,recorded on tape or saved to a hard drive,it may be protected.Copyright laws grant the creator the exclusive right to reproduce,prepare derivative works,distribute,perform and display the work publicly.Exclusive means only the creator of such work,not anybody who has access to it and decides to grab it.截取了几段,你可以上这网站上看看
Copyright protection begins when any of the above described work is actually created and fixed in a tangible form.For example,let's say that someone dabbles in music and lives in the United States.When he/she writes new lyrics,he/she prints them out on paper,signs his/her name at the bottom with the Copyright symbol to show that he/she is the author.Copyright begins at the moment the lyrics are printed out on paper,or fixed in a tangible form.Further proof can be created by putting the lyrics in an envelope and mailing it as the postmark can establish the date of creation.It is then advisable to register the copyright with the U.S.Copyright Office as needed in order to be able to sue for monetary damages should a violation of copyright occur.However,if somebody else copies and redistributes those lyrics without permission before the copyright is registered,the true author would still be able to assert a copyright claim if necessary.
The above applies to digital art and graphics.Open a gif,jpg or png file that you created and look at the properties.It states the date that you saved it to your hard drive as the date of creation.For better protection,back up everything on a cd or disk and put it in a safe place.
Somebody once asked if it was "illegal" to place the copyright symbol next to your name if you have not registered your copyright.Unless you are not the true author of the work,it is not illegal to place the copyright symbol next to your name - it is your right to do so.The proper way to place a copyright notice is as follows:Copyright (first date of creation) (name of owner).Like this:Copyright 2010 John Smith.
