Copyright gives authors the following exclusive, intangible rights:

• reproduction right: the right to make copies of protected work;

• derivative right: the right to create new works (derivative works or adaptations) based on the protected work;

• distribution right: the right to sell or otherwise distribute copies to the public;

• performance and display rights: the right to perform a protected work, such as a stageplay, or to display a protected work, such as a film, in public (where the specific rights depend on the medium).

Copyrights are a collection of property rights: they belong to their owner and may be sold or otherwise exploited for economic benefit.

Who may claim copyrights?

• the author(s), or
• a person or entity to whom the author has transferred one or more rights.

Caution! These notes will not address either of these issues:

1. Authorship distinctions -- works created by:
   • a single author,
   • multiple authors,
   • employees,
   • free lancers,
   • citizens or entities of one or more countries,
   • work-for-hire agreements,
   • transfer agreements,
   • etc.
   Readers of these notes should be aware that such distinctions do matter.

2. Related, but non-transferable, rights:
   • rights of attribution: by which authors have the right to have their names associated with their work;
   • rights of integrity: by which authors have the right to not have their names associated with work they did not do, nor with unflattering modifications to their work.