Artists & Creators

Copyright protection is available for a wide variety of original creative works, including, but not limited to, literary, musical, dramatic, scientific, and artistic works which are fixed in a tangible medium of expression. A holder of a copyright has the exclusive right (for a limited time) to reproduce, distribute, perform and display the work in a public forum, and may create derivative works based on the original copyrighted material. Copyright protection is automatically available when the author creates the work and fixes it in a tangible medium, such as writing a musical composition on paper, typing a novel or poem in a word-processing program, recording a song digitally, or taking a picture on a smart phone.  Registration with the Library of Congress is not required to obtain copyright protection, but it is required for a copyright owner to bring an infringement lawsuit in federal court.