Does a Copyright Protect an Author's Creative Idea?

Ideas are the basis for what people create and copyright.

As soon as an author creates something in tangible form---a poem, story, article, movie or musical score---the creation has copyright protection. Copyright protects the author's creations of text, video and music. The creation does not have to be published by a publisher to be protected by copyright law, but it does have to be written down, be on video or be otherwise saved for it to be protected.

Ideas

Not every creative idea is protected by American copyright laws, nor will every idea be protected by international copyright laws. An idea is not protected as long as it stays in your mind. However, an idea that goes from an idea to a particular created format will be protected under copyright laws.

Format

Once you take that idea and create, for example, a poem on paper, on the computer or saved in a way that you can transmit it to others, what you've created is protected. You can lose this protection if you transmit your creation to the public without a copyright notice that reserves your rights.

Copyright

Once your idea takes tangible form as a poem, story or photograph, it is automatically under protection. You alone have the right to transmit, sell and publish what you've created with your idea. You can also license rights for a certain amount of time. For more formal protection, apply for a copyright from the copyright office. This makes proving your copyright ownership easier.

References

• U.S. Copyright Office: Law and Policy
• Find Law: Intellectual Property: Copyright