Copyright

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Copyright is a law that gives the owner of a work (for example, a book, movie, picture, song or website) the right to say how other people can use it. Copyright laws make it easier for authors to make money by selling their works. It is one part of a group of laws about intellectual property (the others being trademark and patent law). It helps protect authors from other people copying their works without permission and/or for commercial purposes.

With copyright, a work can only be copied if the owner gives permission. If someone copies a work without permission, the owner can say they infringed their copyright. When this happens, the owner may sue for the amount that should have been paid. Most cases are handled by civil law. In more serious cases, a person who copies a work that is protected under copyright could be arrested, fined or even go to prison. Commonly, the copyright law will protect the authors and their heirs for 50 to 100 years since the author's death, or the first day of multiple authors' deaths.

Many countries have modified their copyright law to meet international standards. However, there are still differences in national laws. In some countries, someone violating copyright law will be sued only to the civil law courts but other countries they can also be charged by criminal courts.