A copyright is essential to keep others from using any portion of a work without the copyright holder’s permission. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works For works that were created on or after January 1, 1978, U.S. copyright law has established a “life plus fifty” system. This means that a work is automatically protected from the moment of its creation “in tangible form” to 50 years after the author’s death. In 1989, the copyright law was amended to conform to international law so that material published in the USA after March 1, 1989, automatically carries copyright protection and is protected against foreign piracy.

In the last few years, copyright rules have changed: even though registration is voluntary, a work now must be registered with the Registrar of Copyrights, or the copyright holder cannot bring a lawsuit for infringement of the work.

Watch for part II of this article coming on Monday.