Refers to the right of the author of a work to control the creation and distribution of copies of the work once it has been recorded in a tangible medium, i.e., film, paper, tape, CD, picture, photograph, etc. A dichotomy in copyright exists between abstract ideas, which are not protected, and the recorded expression of those ideas, which id/are protected.
To qualify for copyright, a work has to be original and have a modicum of creativity, which is why the copyright of, for example, simple mechanical lists such as telephone directories is frequently disputed. Copyright is often described as a bundle of rights. An author should usually indicate that it asserts copyright when the work is published, typically by use of the copyright symbol, i.e., ©, followed by the date or dates of publication/creation and the claimant’s name.