Copyright Zach

The moment you create something it is copyrighted as your work. A
copyright allows you to let people see your work but not able to legally use it without your permission. This means it can't be copied and/or used. A copyright also means that other people can't take credit for things you have made. People who use copyrighted work without permission can be sued if enough evidence is shown that they used the work in something or it is copied enough so it mostly looks like your work. This is known as copyright infringement. Some things can and can't be copyrighted. A few examples of things that can be copyrighted include works of literature, music, video, art, and drama. Some things that can't be copyrighted include titles, short phrases, works by the US government, names, ideas and discoveries. But copyright doesn't last forever. A copyright will last until 70 years after the author of a work's death. After the period of 70 years it will enter what is called the public domain. The public domain is where anyone can use something without permission of the dead author. Another thing you can do with copyright is give it to someone else like the author's children. There is also another type of copyright called creative commons. It gives the same protection as copyright but it means the author can choose how the work is used. Different options include whether a person needs to ask for permission to copyright. Whether the person needs to give credit for the author's work. Whether the person can change the author's work. And if the person can use the author's work to get money. These are the basics of copyright.