Copyright Protection Information
A copyright is the right of an author to protect an original work from unauthorized copying and performance. Copyright protection is a primary method of protection for computer software and written materials.
Copyright protects expression, but not the idea behind the expression. For example, a copyright on a spreadsheet program protects it from being copied, but does not prevent another person from coding his own spreadsheet program. Similarly, copyright would not protect Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet from West Side Story. Although the works have the same general story line, only the expression would be protect.
Copyright protection is automatically secured by an "author" once a work is in tangible form. However, a copyright can (and should) be registered with the Library of Congress. A registered copyright has some additional advantages over an unregistered one in an infringement situation, including the right to recover statutory damages and attorney’s fees.
A program’s "author" may be an individual or an employer. An employer is the author of software created by its employees and contract programmers operating under a written "work for hire" agreement. On the other hand, in most cases, an independent contractor is the author (and owns the copyright to) works he or she created in the course of contracting work.
Copyright infringement occurs when there is an unauthorized copying. Because copying is difficult to show, to prove infringement a copyright owner can also show substantial similarity between programs and access to the work by the infringer.