Copyright

Intellectual Property - Distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized and the corresponding fields of law. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs.
 * Copyright Law**

Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. In most jurisdictions copyright arises upon fixation and does not need to be registered. Copyright owners have the exclusive statutory right to exercise control over copying and other exploitation of the works for a specific period of time, after which the work is said to enter the public domain. Uses covered under limitations and exceptions to copyright, such as fair use, do not require permission from the copyright owner. All other uses require permission. Copyright owners can license or permanently transfer or assign their exclusive rights to others.

The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Clause 8) establishes copyright in order to promote creativity, innovation and the spread of knowledge.

Copyright begins the moment the author puts his idea in a tangible form. All original works are protected by copyright whether it contains a © copyright notice or not. Since 1988, all materials are automatically copyrighted, as soon as they are fixed in a final form. Consequently, copyright applies to original works including:
 * print material - poetry, sheet music, novels, architectural designs
 * audio material - recorded music performances
 * visual material - plays, paintings, sculptures, photographs, choreography
 * electronic material - CD-ROMs, video games, videos, software code

If someone else wrote it, drew it, sang it, composed it or designed it, consider it copyrighted.

Copyright Kids CyberBee Join the ©Team Educator Resources (K-5) Curriculum Resources for Embedding Copyright into Classroom Instruction
 * Helpful Websites to use with Students**