If you have ever watched a YouTube video, then you have probably heard of the terms demonetize, copyright strike or copyright claim. Even though copyright claims can often be a bad joke on YouTube, given that almost anyone can claim anything, copyright is something which needs to be taken seriously.

Almost anything can be copyrighted, from audio files (of which YouTube is a great example) to images, code, literature and movies. On the other hand, there are things which you cannot copyright and here are 5 of them.

1.  Ideas or Systems

If ideas could be copyrighted, we would be in a world where lawyers would rule over us all, as everyone would be gunning to sue everyone. Luckily, you cannot copyright ideas. While you could copyright a commercial or advertisement, if it is in video form, or in written form, you cannot copyright the idea of advertising or promotions. For example, online casinos have their own brands, which can be copyrighted, but, the promotions themselves, like this William Hill signup promo code, cannot.

Systems include anything from building things, formulas, discoveries, especially scientific ones, as well as plenty of other things.

   2. Commonly Known or Public Information

This covers a lot of things, calendars, charts, measures, rulers, in other words, anything which was taken from public documents. These things are not subject to copyright. This also includes almost all things dealing with language. You could not copyright a saying, especially if it is public knowledge, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” being an example.

 3. Original Works Which are not in an Understandable Form

This is often misunderstood by people, as one cannot copyright ideas, as we have already come to learn. An idea written in a textual form becomes something which you can copyright. If you have ideas about poems, or other works of literature, you cannot copyright them until they are in textual form, or audio, or even video. The same is applied to ideas about movies, dance moves, choreographies and anything else.

   4. Fashion – Clothes and Accessories

While a design can be patented, it cannot be copyrighted. You cannot copyright a dress, pants, shirts or anything similar to that. But, you can copyright a pattern, for example fabric. This means that you can absolutely make your own dress according to something you saw while watching any fashion-related channels.

   5. Titles of Works

When searching for a song or movie, you might have often run into several different songs or movies with the same name. The reason for this is that you cannot copyright a title. While you can copyright a book, you cannot copyright its title, and the same goes for movies or songs.

These are but some of the things you cannot copyright. In this world where it seems like everything can become patented, copyrighted and claimed by someone, it is good to know that there are also plenty of things which you cannot in any way copyright.