Copyright

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (Title 17 of the U.S. Code) to the authors of "original works of authorship" including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, architectural works and computer programs. Section 106 of the Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:

• To reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;
• To prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;
• To distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
• To perform the copyrighted work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
• To display the copyrighted work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work.

In other words, the owner of the copyright or his/her successor is the only one who can legally profit from it.