Objects of copyright are various literary, scientific works, as well as works of art, regardless of their purpose and dignity, and in what way they are expressed.
A work is a combination of thoughts, images and ideas that, as a result of the author’s activity, have received their definite expression in a form accessible to perception by various human feelings, which, moreover, does not exclude the possibility of reproduction. Objects of copyright are computer programs that are also protected by law.
If the work meets the following criteria, it can be recognized as an object protected by copyright and, accordingly, use this protection:
- It is the result of a person’s creative activity , implies the manifestation of the creative abilities of a certain person (or group of people), and therefore is characterized by a unique personality. It does not matter how valuable and significant the product is for the development of the sphere to which it belongs.
- They do not attach importance either to the ingenious work or rather mediocre. In both cases, copyrights are protected equally. And if the results of the activity are not creative in nature and can be achieved by other persons, it means that the work is not considered an object to be protected by these rights.
- If the creation is not externally expressed, but stored only in the author’s intentions, it also cannot be protected.
- Copyright objects find their expression both in tangible form (musical notation, manuscript, layout, sculpture, sound recording, video recording, sketch, drawing, picture, photo frame), and intangible (when it was read aloud in public).
It should be borne in mind that the author’s right to a work does not intersect with the right to own the material object in which this creation is expressed. That is, if you transfer, for example, a picture painted by one person to any other person, this will not entail the transfer of copyright to this work. To become recognized as such, copyright objects do not have to be made public at all - they are demonstrated to the public through public display, publication, performance, broadcast on television or radio, etc.
If the existence of a creation is known only to its author, it is also considered the subject of copyright as soon as it was created in an objective form. Part of the work is also an object of copyright, including - and a title, if this part meets the above requirements and can be used independently (chapter in the textbook, etc.). A certain character of a work can also be called an object of copyright if it is an independent result of creative work.
Derivative works - processing, translations, abstracts, annotations, dramas, reviews, resumes, arrangements - are also subject to copyright protection. The creator of these works can use copyright if he has taken into account all the rights of the author of the work that has undergone alteration, translation, etc.
Thus, the following types of copyright are distinguished:
- Expressed orally (through public speaking).
- Written (manuscript or sheet music).
- Images (drawings, paintings, drawings, frames).
- Having a three-dimensional shape (structures or sculptures).
- Sound or video recordings.
It is not protected by these rights and cannot be positioned as a specific object of copyright concept, idea, principle, method, system, solutions, organizational and technical methods, programming languages, facts, discoveries.