A. Copyright - Definition
The subject matter of copyright is usually described as "literary and artistic works," that is, original creations in the fields of literature and arts. The form in which such works are expressed may be words, symbols, music, pictures, three-dimensional objects, or combinations thereof (as in the case of an opera or a motion picture). Practically all national copyright laws provide for the protection of the following types of works:
literary works: novels, short stories, poems, dramatic works and any other writings, irrespective of their content (fiction or non-fiction), length, purpose (amusement, education, information, advertisement, propaganda, etc.), form (handwritten, typed, printed; book, pamphlet, single sheets, newspaper, magazine); whether published or unpublished; in most countries computer programs and "oral works," that is, works not reduced to writing, are also protected by the copyright law;
musical works: whether serious or light; songs, choruses, operas, musicals, operettas; if for instruments, whether for one instrument (solos), a few instruments (sonatas, chamber music, etc.) or many (bands, orchestras)
choreographic works;
artistic works: whether two-dimensional (drawings, paintings, etchings, lithographs, etc.) or three-dimensional (sculptures, architectural works), irrespective of their content (representational or abstract) and destination ("pure" art, for advertisement, etc.);
maps and technical drawings;
photographic works: irrespective of the subject matter (portraits, landscapes, current events, etc.) and the purpose for which made;
audiovisual works (formerly mainly called "motion pictures" or "cinematographic works"): even where silent, and irrespective of their purpose (theatrical exhibition, television broadcasting, etc.), their genre (film dramas, documentaries, newsreels, etc.), length, method employed (filming "live", cartoons, etc.), or technical process used (pictures on transparent film, on electronic videotapes, etc.).
Some copyright laws also provide for the protection of derivative works (translations, adaptations) and collections (compilations) of works and mere data (data bases), collections where they, by reason of the selection and arrangement of the contents, constitute intellectual creations.
Many copyright laws also contain provisions for the protection of "works of applied art" (artistic jewelry, lamps, wallpaper, furniture, etc.).
Some copyright laws provide that computer programs are to be protected as literary works.
In certain countries, mainly in countries with common law legal traditions, the notion "copyright" has a wider meaning than "author's rights" and, in addition to literary and artistic works, also extends to the producers of sound recordings (phonograms, whether disks or tapes), to the broadcasters of broadcasts and the creators of distinctive typographical arrangements of publications.
As regards the number of literary and artistic works created worldwide, it is difficult to make a precise estimate. However, the information available indicates that at present around 1,000,000 books/titles are published and some 5,000 feature films are produced in a year, and the number of copies of phonograms sold per year presently is more than 3,000 million.
Source: International Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights, http://www.wipo.org.eng/general/copyrght/intro.htm (March 1999)