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  Copyright Law

Copyright law serves to protect a person's original work. The holder of a copyright determines how the work may be copied or used. Copyrights may be applied to the following: literary works, movies, musical works, sound recordings, paintings, computer programs, and industrial design. Copyrights do not protect ideas, but rather the specific expression of an idea.

A copyright grants the holder exclusive right to sell copies of the work and to sell the rights to another person. The copyright holder also controls public performance of the work. Copyright protection is set for a limited number of years, after which the work enters into the public domain.