You might have come across the symbol © and the term copyright a couple of times, while browsing online or even in the physical work. However, a lot of people are still not sure of what this term means.

Basically, copyright is a protection that gives you ownership over the things that you have created. It is indicated by the word “Copyright” written or by the following symbol ©, a symbol C surrounded by a circle. This is then followed by the publication date of the work and finally the name of the author in the end.
No matter what the article may be; painting, poster, literary work, software, etc., if you’ve created it, then you own it. The copyright law assures of this ownership. This law offers you protection and several rights.

Some of these include:
• The right to reproduce the work you’ve created
• The right to prepare other works based on the original work you’ve created
• The right to give out copies of their work
• The right to perform the work you’ve done
• The right to display the work to the public eye

These rights are your rights, and you are the only person who can change them or give them up if you want to. No other person has the right to violate them, therefore until and unless you’ve given permission your work can not be copied.

Can copyright material be used without permission?

If someone wants to use the material that has been copyrighted, then it is necessary for them to make sure that these works are in the public domain. This means that the copyright has expired which leads to all of these laws being forfeited.

However, if these works are not in the public domain, and the copyright still exists then you need permission to use the work, or else you might end up putting yourself in a risk of legal action!

Despite the fact that your intentions may be clear and that you might be using the work for fair use, but since only the owner of the copyrighted piece has the authority to do whatever they wish with their work, you might end up facing severe consequences.

Only the holder of the copyright has the authority to do whatever they wish with it. It’s pretty much the same as owning a house or a car, etc. Only you have the right to use it, lend it, modify it, sell it or even destroy it. This is what copyright is basically all about; you got to make the most out of your creation without having others change or use it without your say-so.

The difference between copyright and trademark

A lot of people end up getting confused between copyright and trademark. However, these two happen to be two different things. Copyright is a law that provides protection of one’s intellectual property whereas; a trademark is a protection for a brand name, a logo, motto, etc.
A simple example is, the content available on the website of a brand is copyrighted, and the brand that owns this content is trademarked.