Copyright

(noun)

A legal concept that gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time, with the intention of enabling the creator to be compensated for his or her work.

Related Terms

Examples of Copyright in the following topics:

  • Legal Barriers

    • The government creates legal barriers through patents, copyrights, and granting exclusive rights to companies.
    • Intellectual property rights, including copyright and patents, are an important example of legal barriers that give rise to monopolies.
    • The intent behind copyright is to promote the creation of new works by providing creators the opportunity to profit from their works.
    • When the copyright on a work expires, the work is transferred to the public domain, enabling others to repurpose and build on the work.
    • Copyright is an example of a temporary legal monopoly granted to creators of original creative works.

  • Institutions and Costs

    • Patents, copyrights, regulations of communication industries (radio, television, newspapers, internet and the like) determine the behavior of the agents and firms in those industries.
    • Companies that publish music have more interest in the laws regarding the ownership (copyrights) and royalties to music than the public; the "Napster" incident on downloading music files from the Internet is an example.

  • The New Nation's Economy

    • The Constitution provided that the federal government could regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states, establish uniform bankruptcy laws, create money and regulate its value, fix standards of weights and measures, establish post offices and roads, and fix rules governing patents and copyrights.

  • Government Action

    • Intellectual property rights such as copyright and patents are government-granted monopolies.

  • Multilateralism, Regionalism, and Bilateralism

    • Of particular importance to Americans, the agreement included some protections for American owners of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets; Americans in recent years have grown increasingly concerned about piracy and counterfeiting of U.S. products ranging from computer software and motion pictures to pharmaceutical and chemical products.

  • Examples of Price Discrimination

    • Copyright protection laws increase the price of textbooks.

  • Other Barriers to Entry

    • Intellectual property rights, such as patents and copyright, give the rights holder exclusive control over the production and sale of certain goods.

  • Introduction to Property Rights

    • I am thinking here of the extension of property to such rights and privileges as patents for inventions, copyright, trademarks, and the like.

  • Private Property Rights

    • Patents and copyright laws are attempts by the government to assign and protect property rights.

  • Issues In Property Rights

    • If the property rights to ideas, inventions, patents, trademarks, copyrights are held privately, the owners will use them to the greatest advantage.