Copyright covers original literary, scientific and artistic intellectual creations, or works. Registration is not required for the acquisition or maintenance of copyright rights; however, there are certain specific copyright-related acts subject to registration in order to be valid.

In Angola, copyright comprises economic and moral rights.

In the scope of economic rights, copyright owners have the exclusive right to use, enjoy and dispose of their work, or to authorize the use of the work, wholly or in part, by third parties.

Moral rights consist in the right to claim authorship of the work, as well as the right to ensure its genuineness and integrity.

Copyright protects intellectual creations in all fields of science, art and literature. Article 1 of the Copyright Law includes a non-exhaustive list of possible intellectual works protected by copyright. These include, among others, literary and artistic works, music, architectural works and software.

Copyright protects intellectual expressions, but not ideas. For example, the contents of a book in terms of sentences and other literary expressions are protected by copyright, but the creative idea underlying the book as a whole is not.

Copyright results from the creation of an intellectual work. Registration is not necessary for copyright to exist, although it is necessary for the exercise of some rights by local authors. Upon creation of a protected work, copyright belongs to the original author or authors, who then may transfer their right, by contract or by the operation of certain legal rules.

Copyright includes economic and moral rights. Economic rights consist, basically, in the exclusive right to use and exploit the protected work. The Copyright Law lists some of the elements of this exclusive right, such as the right to reproduce the relevant work, to market copies, to prepare derivative works or to have the work performed publicly.

Moral rights include the so-called “integrity right” – that is, the right to preserve the text, title and other contents of the work, even if property rights on such work have been assigned; the “paternity right” – the author’s right to be named and identified as such together with the work; the “publication right” – the right to decide whether the right will be published; and the “alteration right” – that is, the right to modify the work, even after it has been published. Moral rights belong to the author, and they are generally non-assignable.

Copyright may subsist in both works, which include original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, and subject-matter other than works, which includes sound recordings, cinematograph films, television and sound broadcasts and published editions of works.

There is no registration requirement or publication requirement for a valid copyright, except for television and sound broadcasts and published editions of works, which must be published.

The exclusive rights for original works are to reproduce, publish, perform, communicate to the public and make an adaptation of the work, and to enter into commercial rental arrangements for a work reproduced in a program or sound recording.

The exclusive rights for subject matter other than works are to make a copy of the work, communicate it to the public and to enter into a commercial agreement in respect of the work.

Copyrights are available for works that are "unique intellectual creations" (eigentümliche geistige Schöpfung) in the fields of literature (including computer programs), musical art, fine arts and movie arts. The main criteria to determine whether a creation is a work are human creativity and originality/individuality; no specific quality of work is required. There is detailed case law in Austria dealing with the assessment of whether a work is subject to copyright. The work does not have to be fixed in a tangible medium to be protected. Furthermore, it is not possible to register works because there is no register for copyrights.

The Copyright Act also provides protection for several "related rights" that are not copyrighted but are  subject to the same or similar regulations (ancillary copyright – Leistungsschutzrecht). These rights are relevant for performers and presenters, producers of media and broadcasters. Certain works (ie, databases and photographs) can be subject to both copyright (if sufficiently original) and ancillary copyright. Finally, the Copyright Act also provides protection for technical measures intended to prevent copyright infringement (digital rights management protection).

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to exploit their work (including the right to reproduce, distribute, lend, lease, prepare derivative works, make work available, emit and publicly perform) as well as certain personal rights (such as the right to be named as author).

It is possible to use copyrighted works under certain circumstances (so-called “free work use”). These free work uses include among others (Sections 41 et seq. Copyright Acts):

• Use for administration and justice administration
• Use for volatile and accompanying reproductions
• Reporting of daily events
• Teaching and learning purposes
• Use for text and data mining

To qualify for copyright protection, a work must be original, which has been determined by case law to mean that the protected work must be the expression of the intellectual creation of its author. Even if the work consists of elements which, considered in isolation, are not an intellectual creation of the author who employs them, the author may express their creativity in an original manner and achieve a result which is an intellectual creation through the choice, sequence and combination of those elements.

The same requirement of originality applies to the copyright protection of databases, which is considered to be original when it constitutes the author's own intellectual creation by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents.

There is no registration process for copyright protection; the author's right arises automatically with the creation. Mere ideas or concepts are not protectable.

Copyright protection is available for "creations of the spirit," expressed by any means or fixed in any medium, tangible or intangible, now known or invented in the future. Protection by copyright does not depend on registration, and the rights arise upon creation of the work.

Authors hold, over the works they create, moral rights (which include the right of having their name associated with the work and the right to modify or prevent modifications of the work) and economic rights (which include the right to use – and authorize others to use – the work by any means, enjoy any results arising from the work and make the work available, including the right to reproduce, publish, distribute, edit, adapt, translate and others).

Moral rights cannot be waived or assigned.

In Brazil, copyright protection also applies to software, defined as the "expression or an organized group of instructions in natural or encoded language, contained in a physical medium of any nature, the use of which is necessary in automated information treatment machines, devices, instruments or peripheral equipment based on digital or analogical technique for them to work in a certain way and for a certain purpose." In the case of software, moral rights are not applicable.

Copyright protection is granted to every original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work in a fixed mode of expression, and to sound recordings, performers' performances and communication signals.

Copyright arises automatically upon creation of the work, sound recording, performer's performance or communication signal. Moral rights of attribution and integrity additionally arise automatically upon creation of a copyrighted work or performer's performance and belong exclusively to the author. Moral rights may be waived by the author but cannot be assigned.

Registration is not necessary to enforce rights, but registration provides certain legal advantages.

The owner of a copyrighted work has the sole right to produce, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, perform or publish a work of authorship in any material form. The owner of a sound recording, performer's performance or communication signal has the sole right to fix it in any material form, reproduce any fixation, communicate it to the public or perform it in public. The owner of a computer program or musical work has the sole right to rent out the computer program or recording in which the work is embedded.  If a copyright work is embedded in a tangible object (such as a novel), the copyright owner has the right to “first sell” the work (designed to prevent leaks ahead of release dates).

In Chile, copyright is recognized for works that are original and are expressed or embodied in a concrete result, even if they are intangible. The right arises automatically at the moment of creation and does not require registration. In Chile, however, copyrights can be registered to simplify the proof of authorship. For this purpose, the work must be published in the register of the DDI.

Copyrights include economic rights (ie, rights relating to commercial exploitation of the work) and moral rights (ie, rights related to the personality of the author).

With regards to economic rights, these grant the author or his assignee the right to use the work directly and personally, to transfer, in whole or in part, its rights over it, and to authorize its use by 3rd parties. In particular, the copyright holder or those expressly authorized by them, has the exclusive right to publish, reproduce, adapt, publicly display and distribute the protected work. Law 17.336 contains an exception which states that the first sale or other transfer of ownership in Chile or abroad, exhausts the national and international distribution right with respect to the original or transferred copy.

Moral rights recognize the paternity over the work, the integrity of the work so as to avoid any mutilation or deformation, the right for the work to remain unpublished, the anonymity of an author’s pseudonym, as well as rights to modify rights.

The Chilean copyright law also contains related rights – ie, rights granted to artists, interpreters and performers to allow or prohibit the dissemination of their productions and receive remuneration for public use, right of producers of phonograms in their productions; and right of broadcasting organizations in their program signal.

Works of literature, art, natural science, social science and engineering technology that are created in the form of written works, oral works, musical works, dramatic works, works of fine arts and architectural works, photographic works, cinematographic works, graphic works such as drawings of engineering designs and computer software can enjoy protection under the PRC copyright laws.

Registration of copyright is not required and the rights arise automatically at the time the creation of the work is completed.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works, publicly perform and broadcast their works or disseminate the works via an information network.

Copyrights protect any literary or artistic work that may be reproduced or disclosed by any means. Software can be the subject to copyright protection as a literary work. Protection is granted regardless of how the work was created.

The person whose name, pseudonym or any other identifying detail is visible on the work is considered the author, but another legal or natural person may have entered a written agreement by which the ownership of the economic rights derived from the work are transferred. In this regard, copyright recognizes 2 types of rights: economic and moral rights.

Moral rights

As per Law 23 of 1982 and Decision 351 dated 1993 of the Andean Community, moral rights are those that recognize the author as such. This type of right may not be licensed, transferred, waived, or prescribed and empowers the author to:

• Keep the work unpublished or disclose it;
• Claim the authorship of the work and;
• Object to any change, alteration or mutilation of the work that may be harmful to its integrity or that may affect the reputation of the author.

Economic rights

Economic rights grant their proprietor the power to receive any economic benefit that is derived from the exploitation or reproduction of a specific copyrighted work. In this regard, Law 23 of 1982 and Decision 351 of 1993 grant the proprietor of economic rights:

• A right of reproduction: This is the act of capturing the work in a tangible medium or obtaining copies, in whole or in part, by any means or procedure, known or to be known.

• Right of public communication: This is the act by which a group of people, whether gathered in the same place or not, can access the work without prior distribution of copies to each of them.
• A right of distribution: This is the act of public distribution of the original and copies of the works, through sale or any other form of transfer of ownership.
• A right of rental: This is the act of renting or leasing to the public the original or copies of the works.
• A right of transformation: This is the act of adaptation, arrangement, or any other transformation of the work.

Copyright is available for original works of authorship in any objectively perceivable manner, including in electronic form, permanent or temporary, irrespective of its scope, purpose or significance. A computer program shall also be considered an authorship work if it is original in the sense that it is the author's own intellectual creation.

Registration is not required (nor even possible) for valid copyright rights, and the copyright shall apply to the work in its entirety, to its individual stages of development and to parts of the work, including its title and the names of its characters, if any of these meet the definition elements of an authorship work set out above.

Copyright holders have the exclusive right to decide to publish their work, claim the authorship and the right to the inviolability of their work (ie, moral rights). They also have the exclusive rights to use, reproduce, distribute, rent, loan, publicly display and publicly perform their works of authorship.

Available for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Registration is not required for valid copyright rights, and the rights arise at the time the original work of authorship is fixed in a tangible medium of expression.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works, publicly perform and publicly display their works of authorship.

Besides actual copyright rights, Danish law protects neighboring rights such as the right to a recording and press publishers’ rights. Moral rights are recognized.

Copyright protection is given to independent and original literary or artistic works. Copyright is considered to consist of moral and economical rights to the work, of which the latter may be freely transferred or licensed. Copyrights are not registered. The Copyright Act grants the copyright holder the exclusive right to reproduce, display, distribute and commercially exploit the work. Limitations apply in regard to this exclusivity, such as the right to use copyrighted works for the purposes of quoting, teaching or parody.

Copyrights include economic rights and moral rights. French law grants copyright protection to:

There are 2 main conditions for copyright protection:

• The work must be fixed in a material or immaterial form (ie, on paper, in a computer program or in an electronic document) – mere ideas are not protected – and
• The work must be original (ie, it must be endowed with the personality of its author).

Authors can obtain copyright protection for their works, especially literary, scientific and artistic creations. However, the types of work mentioned in the German Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz or UrhG) are not exhaustive and in general, any creation that displays a sufficient level of creativity may be subject to the protection. Only natural persons can be authors, whereas this is not the case for legal entities or automated systems, in particular based on artificial intelligence. Copyright protection arises upon creation of the work. Registration is neither necessary nor possible.

The author is granted exploitation rights, which include the right of reproduction, distribution, exhibition, broadcasting, recitation, performance and presentation as well as a resale royalty right. In addition, there are moral rights, namely the right to decide whether and how the work will be published, the right to recognition of authorship and the right to prohibit the distortion or any other derogatory of their work.

The Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528) defines copyright as a property right given to the owner of an original work. The rights consist of economic and moral rights, which subsist in original literary dramatic, musical or artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts or cable programs, and typographical arrangement of published editions.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, communicate, prepare derivative works of, publicly perform and publicly display their works of authorship. These rights arise automatically upon creation of the work, and there is no registration requirement to obtain copyright protection in Hong Kong.

All literary, scientific and artistic works are entitled to copyright protection on the basis of its individual and original character deriving from the intellectual creating activity of the author.

Copyright protection arises automatically, and no application or registration is needed. Registration is only optional and serves as proof that the work existed on the date of issue of the registration certificate and that the author has acknowledged ownership of the work. Hence the registration is only a rebuttable presumption and does not constitute the existence of an intellectual property right.

The copyright owner is entitled to moral and economic rights. The economic rights of the copyright holder include the exclusive right to use (eg, reproduce, distribute, communicate to the public, broadcast, exhibit or perform) and to authorize others to use their work, or part of it, in any material or non-material form.

Under the moral rights of the author, the author is entitled to the right of first publication, the indication of his /her name on the work as the author of the work. The author also has a right for the protection of the integrity of the work.

Copyright protection is available for original works of authorship expressed in a tangible form. Registration is not required for a valid copyright, and the rights arise at the time the original work is captured on a tangible medium.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works, publicly perform and publicly display their works of authorship.

The nature of right of a copyright consists of 2 types of exclusive rights: moral rights and economic rights. The creator or a copyright holder has the moral right, which is the right eternally inherent to the creator to:

• Include or exclude their name in relation to the use of a copy of their work to the public.
• Use their alias name or pseudonym.
• Change the creation in accordance with the propriety of the community.
• Change the title and the subtitle of the creation.
• Defend their rights in the occurrence of distortion of a creation, mutilation of a creation, modification of a creation or any matters that are detrimental to their honor or reputation.

The other exclusive rights owned by the creator or a copyright holder are the economic rights to gain economic benefits such as to publish and/or reproduce the creation subject to the copyright and to grant permission for 3rd parties to publish and/or reproduce that creation.

Copyright is a property right. It gives protection to a range of works where the work is original, namely:

• Literary works including computer software
• Dramatic works
• Films
• Cable programs
• Broadcasts
• Musical or artistic works
• Sound recordings
• The typographical arrangement of a published edition and
• An original database

There is no registration regime in Ireland for copyright works; it is not a pre-condition of the protection afforded to the work under copyright law. Copyright will arise at the time that the original work of authorship is recorded or fixed.

An owner of a work that is protected by copyright has a number of specific, exclusive rights in relation to that work including:

• To reproduce
• To make available to the public (and this includes the right to perform or display their work to the public) and
• To adapt

The copyright owner has the sole authority to permit others to do any such acts.

Under Irish law, there is also protection available for database rights, performance rights and rental and lending rights.

The Copyright and Related Rights Acts 2000 (as amended) recognizes the concept of moral rights. The moral rights are:

• The paternity right (the right to be identified as the author of the work)
• The integrity right (the right to prevent mutilation, distortion or other derogatory alteration of the work)
• The right of protection against false attribution (the right of a person not to have a work falsely attributed to him/her) and
• The right to privacy in photographs and film where commissioned for private / domestic use

Importantly, it is not possible, as a matter of law, to assign moral rights. However, moral rights can be waived by the individual entitled to such rights.

Copyright protects authors' economic and moral rights. According to Section 4(a) of the Copyright Act 2007, copyright subsists in any original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work if it is fixed in any form. Protection of moral rights is comprised of the authors' rights for attribution and for the work not to be distorted in any unauthorized manner.

Copyright protection is available to works that have a creative character and pertains to every field of human creation, including literature, music, graphic arts, architecture, theater and cinematography, among others.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to reproduce, perform publicly by any distance medium, distribute, transform and lease and loan the work.

In addition to the above, the copyright owner also has moral rights such as the right to claim authorship of their work and, in case of an anonymous work, the right to reveal their identity; to object to any distortion, defacing or any other modification of their work that could be prejudicial to their honor or reputation; and to withdraw the literary work from commerce for serious moral reasons.

Works created by an author are protected subject to certain exceptions specified in the Copyright Act, such as private use, citations and school text book use. "Works" means a production in which thoughts or sentiments are creatively expressed and which falls within the literary, academic, artistic or musical domain.

No fixation to a tangible medium (except for movies) or registration is required.

The copyright arises and is protected from the moment of creation.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to reproduce, publicly perform, screen, transmit, recite, exhibit or distribute, transfer, lend reproductions, translate, adapt the work and use derivative works.

Moral rights of an author and neighboring rights are recognized under the Copyright Act.

To qualify for copyright protection, a work must be original.

The same requirement of originality applies to the copyright protection of databases, which are considered original when they constitute the author's own intellectual creation by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents.

There is no registration process for copyright protection; the author's right arises automatically with the creation. Mere ideas or concepts are not protected.

Copyright can apply to a variety of works, including musical, literary, broadcasting, photography, works of art (ie, graphic design, pictorial, drawing, sculpture and caricature), cinematography, audiovisual work, editorial compilations (such as encyclopedias and anthologies), operating systems and computer programs.

Copyright grants both moral and economic rights to its author, which shall be an individual as opposed to an entity.

Moral rights make the author the first and only perpetual owner of the rights of the copyright work; patrimonial rights allow the titleholder to exploit the work exclusively or to authorize 3rd parties to exploit the copyright.

To qualify for copyright protection, a work must be an original intellectual creation of the author. Even if the work consists of elements which, considered in isolation, are not as such an intellectual creation of the author who employs them, the author may express their creativity in an original manner through the choice, sequence and combination of those elements.  The functional nature of a work does not necessarily exclude the work from copyright protection. 

The same requirement of originality applies to the copyright protection of databases, which is considered original when it constitutes the author's own intellectual creation by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents.

There is no registration process for copyright protection. The author's right arises automatically with the creation of the work. Mere ideas or concepts are not protected.  

Copyright protection is available for original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, as well as sound recordings, films, communication works and typographical arrangements of published editions.

There is no registration requirement for copyright in New Zealand and no copyright registration system. The protection is automatic and the work is protected from the time it is first recorded (in writing or otherwise).

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to prevent others from copying the work, issuing copies of the work to the public, performing, playing or showing the work in public, communicating the work to the public or making an adaptation of the work.

By virtue of the Nigerian Copyright Act, 2022, provided the criteria for eligibility is met, copyright subsists in literary works, artistic works, musical works, sound recordings, audiovisual works and broadcasts. There is a non-mandatory provision for registration under the Copyright Act. Further to this provision, owners and creators of copyright works may register their works in the Register of Works with the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC). This is called the Nigeria Copyright eRegistration System. The Register’s content is, at first instance, the evidence of the copyright work and the particulars entered therein. Registration of the work does not constitute proof of ownership.

The requirements for eligibility in relation to literary, musical and artistic works are that such works must be of original character and have been fixed in a definite medium of expression from which they can be perceived, reproduced or communicated. Any work that meets the aforementioned requirements are also eligible for copyright regardless of the quality of the work or purpose for which it was created.

A work, other than a broadcast, enjoys copyright protection under Nigerian law if its author is a citizen or habitually resident in Nigeria or that of a company incorporated under Nigerian law. A copyright may also be conferred on musical or artistic works and audiovisuals which are 1st published in Nigeria and on sound recordings made in Nigeria or a broadcast transmitted from Nigeria or by a broadcasting organization that has its headquarters situated in Nigeria. Works made under the direction of a federal or state government or an international organization also enjoy copyright protection if they meet the eligibility requirements specified above.

A work may also additionally qualify for protection in Nigeria if at least 1 of the authors is a citizen of or is domiciled in a country which is party to an obligation under any treaty or international agreement to which Nigeria is a party. Works published by the United Nations Organizations or any of its specialized agencies, the African Union and the Economic Communities of West African States, also enjoy copyright protection under the Act.

Copyright protection is available for original literary or artistic works. The protection covers works of any kind, regardless of mode of expression or form of creative expression.

To earn copyright protection, the work must be created through creative effort and have sufficient originality. Neither registration nor the use of the international copyright sign is required. However, it is generally recommended that, where possible, both be included in order to strengthen the owner's right to the work.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to distribute copies and make the work available to the public, including the right to publicly display, present and share the created work.

Copyright can apply to a variety of works, including musical, literary, broadcasting, photography, works of art (ie, graphic design, pictorial, drawing, sculpture and caricature), cinematography, audiovisual work, editorial compilations (eg, encyclopedias and anthologies), operating systems and computer programs (ie, software) and architecture.

Copyright grants both moral and economic rights to its author, which shall be an individual who can transfer its economic rights to another individual or entity.

Moral rights make the author the first and only perpetual owner of the rights of the copyright work; patrimonial rights allow the titleholder to exploit the work exclusively or to authorize third parties to exploit the copyright.

Copyright is the legal protection extended to the owner of the rights in an original work. Original work refers to every production in the literary, scientific and artistic domain. The rights attach from the moment of creation without need of registration or recordation. However, deposit or recordation is available under Philippine law.

Owners of works protected by copyright enjoy the exclusive right to use or authorize others to use the work. They may authorize or prohibit the reproduction of the work in all forms, including print and sound recording, and public performance and communication to the public, among others.

Copyright protects the manifestation of creative activity of an individual nature, established in any form, irrespective of its value, purpose or form of expression. Copyright protection begins as soon as the work is established (registration of the right is not necessary). As a general rule, the copyrights to works of authorship (comprising the author's economic and personal copyrights) are owned by their author.

The author's economic copyrights stipulate the author's exclusive right to use the work, or to trade the right to use the work in all fields of exploitation, and to receive remuneration for its use.

The author's moral rights concern the author's relation with the work. These moral rights include the right:

• of authorship
• to put the author's name or pseudonym on a work, or to communicate a work anonymously
• to protect the integrity of the content and form of a work and its fair use
• to decide to communicate a work to the public for the first time
• to control the manner in which the work is used

Copyright covers original literary, scientific and artistic intellectual creations (ie, works). Registration is not required for the acquisition or maintenance of copyright rights; however, there are certain specific copyright-related acts subject to registration in order to be valid.

In Portugal, copyright comprises patrimonial and moral rights.

In the scope of the patrimonial rights, copyright owners have the exclusive right to use, enjoy and dispose of their work, or to authorize the use of the work, wholly or in part, by 3rd parties.

Moral rights consist in the right to claim authorship of the work, as well as the right to ensure its genuineness and integrity.

Copyrights are available for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. The rights arise at the time the original work of authorship is fixed in a tangible medium of expression, and registration is not required to validate the copyright. Registered copyrights are denoted by the symbol ©.

Copyright owners have a bundle of exclusive rights, which include the right to reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works and publicly perform their works of authorship.

Copyright protection is available to works that have a creative character and pertains to works of literature, science and arts, regardless of their purpose, qualities and the mode or form of expression. Computer programs and databases are generally protected as literary works.

Copyright owners have certain exclusive rights, including the right to reproduce, distribute, publicly display, import, loan, perform publicly by any distance medium, communicate by air, communicate by cable, translate/transform, implement (in relation to architectural and design projects) and convey the work to the public.

In addition to the above, the author (individual creator of the work) has moral (personal inalienable) rights such as the right to claim authorship of their work, the right to indicate or not indicate their identity, the right to integrity of the work and the right to make the work available to the public.

Under the Copyright Law, copyright protection applies to works "created in the fields of literature, art and sciences, irrespective of their type, means of expression, importance or purpose of authorship."

The Copyright Law covers works of Saudi and non-Saudi authors published, produced, performed or displayed for the first time in the KSA, and works of Saudi authors published, produced, performed or displayed for the first time outside the KSA, works of broadcasting organizations and producers of sound recordings and performers as well as works copyrighted pursuant to international agreements or treaties for protection of copyright to which the KSA is a party.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works, publicly perform and publicly display their works of authorship. Copyright Law also affords extensive moral rights to the author of a copyright work, which are considered permanent rights of the author and, significantly, cannot be subject to waiver, lapse or transfer (except to the heir(s) of the author in case of the author's death or, if there are no heirs, to the Ministry of Culture and Information).

Assignment by an author of all his future intellectual production is, under the Copyright Law, also deemed to be null and void.

The application of moral rights and restrictions on future assignment have implications for the drafting of contracts and assignment documents.

Copyright protects literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and other subject matter, such as sound recordings, films, broadcasts, cable programs and published editions of works. The copyright owner has an exclusive right to engage in certain acts in relation to the copyrighted work, such as reproduction or publishing.

In order for a copyright to be applicable, the work must be original and exist in tangible form such as in writing or as a recording. Ideas or concepts alone are not protected.

Copyright does not need to be registered. The author of a work to which copyright applies automatically enjoys copyright protection as soon as the work is expressed in a tangible form.

An object of copyright shall be a work in the field of literature, art or science, which is a unique result of the creative intellectual activity of the author. Such a work must be perceptible through senses, regardless of its form, content, quality, purpose, form of expression or phase of completion. The author of a work is a natural person who created the work. The copyright arises at the time when a work is objectively expressed in a form perceptible by senses.

Copyright includes exclusive personal rights and exclusive property rights.

The author has the exclusive personal rights to decide to publish or not to publish the work, to be identified as the author and to decide on the way of such identification. The author has the right to authorship of the work. The author's work shall be protected against any unauthorized alteration or other unauthorized interference. The author cannot waive these rights. These rights are not transferable, and they cease to exist upon the author's death.

In addition, the author has the exclusive property rights to use the work and to grant consent with the use of the work to somebody else. The author also has the right to remuneration for the use of work. The use of work includes processing of the work, reproduction of the work, public dissemination of the original of the work or the copy of the work by transfer of ownership or by borrowing or making the work available to the public. Use of the work also means making the work available for social, educational, scientific, cultural and official purposes as well as use by an online content sharing service provider. The author, as the licensor, grants such consent to the licensee in the license agreement. Author's property rights do not expire by granting consent with the use of the work. However, the author is obliged to tolerate the use of the work by licensee within the scope of the granted consent.

If 2 or more authors have created a single work in such a way that it is not possible to distinguish their individual creative contributions, they are considered co-authors. In such a case, the personal and property rights shall belong to all co-authors jointly and severally unless the co-authors have agreed otherwise in writing.

As regards the rights related to the copyright, these are:

• The rights of a performing artist (eg, a singer, musician, conductor, actor or dancer)

• The rights of a producer of a sound record

• The rights of a producer of an audiovisual record

• The rights of a broadcaster

• The rights of a periodical publisher

  The rights of the author of the database and the contractor of the database.

The general provisions relating to the copyright shall apply accordingly to these specific authors of works.

Copyright protection arises upon creation of an original copyright work without any formality.

Copyright registration is not a prerequisite for copyright protection or enforcement, although it provides certain statutory presumptions that give advantages in enforcement. Protection under the CA applies to any creative work that expresses ideas or sentiments of mankind.

The copyright holder who has the right to reproduce and distribute a work (initially, the author) may license or assign the right of publication to a person who intends to publish the work (whether in writing or drawing).

All original literary, artistic or scientific works are protected by copyright, in particular, books, music compositions, audiovisual works, projects, plans, graphics, and databases. Computer programs are also protected by copyright and with certain exceptions, are treated in the same way as literary works.

Registration is not required for valid copyright protection. However, works that qualify for copyright protection may be registered on the Copyright Register and/or filed with a Notary Public in order to serve as stronger evidence. Copyright protection is automatic and the rights arise at the time the work is created.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works, publicly perform and publicly display their works of authorship.

Copyright protection is available for original works that are literary or artistic. The individual author or creator is entitled to copyright in the work.  No registration or fixation is required; the right arises at the time of creation if the work is considered original according to Swedish and EU case law.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute the work. Distribution includes transmission/communication to the public, public performance, public display and distribution of copies. Moral rights are recognized.

Copyright protection is available for intellectual creations of literature or art that have an individual character. Since a recent revision of the Swiss Copyright Act, photographic depictions and depictions of 3-dimensional objects that were produced by a process similar to that of photography are likewise eligible to copyright protection even if they do not exhibit an individual character.

Registration is not required; the rights arise as soon as a work is created. It is not necessary to refer to the copyright in the work.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to reproduce, translate, edit, distribute, sell, perform, broadcast or transfer the work.

The Copyright Act defines copyright as a property right, comprising economic rights and moral rights. Registration is not required for copyright protection. The rights arise automatically upon creation of the relevant authorship work. 

In Ukraine, copyright protection is granted to original works of authorship fixed in any objective form. Copyright arises from the moment of creation of work and does not require registration or fulfillment of any other formalities to enjoy protection. Registration of copyright is possible in Ukraine on a voluntary basis and does not affect the validity of rights. Copyright protection is granted to both published and unpublished works, complete and incomplete, irrespective of their designation, genre, volume or way of expression. In addition, a part of a work that may be used independently, including its original name and original character in a work, if it is used separately from the work as part of which it was created, is treated as a work that can enjoy copyright protection.

Copyright owners have an exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, publicly perform and publicly display their works of authorship. In addition, copyright owners have moral rights, such as the right to claim authorship by way of indicating the author's name on the work and the right to prohibit mentioning their name during any display of work or to choose pseudonym, the right to protect integrity of their work, the right to title work or leave it untitled, as well as the right to determine on dedication of work to person(s), event or date. Moral rights cannot be assigned or transferred to 3rd parties.

A "work" is defined under the Copyright Law as "any creative work in the field of literature or the arts or sciences of whatever kind or manner of expression or whatever its importance or its purpose." The work must be original, but the threshold for originality is low - essentially the work must not be copied from another work.

The general principle is that copyright exists automatically without the need for registration. Copyright material may be registered in the UAE but this is essentially a process of depositing the work at the Ministry of Economy. However, registration is likely to be a prerequisite for a successful enforcement action in the UAE courts.

Copyright protection is available for works covered by the categories protected by the Copyright Act, which include artistic, literary (including software), dramatic, musical, sound recording, film, broadcasts and typographical arrangements. Literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works must be original to qualify for protection.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to prevent others copying the work, issuing copies of the work to the public, renting, lending, performing, showing, communicating works to the public or making an adaptation of the work.

Knowingly dealing with infringing copies is also prohibited as "secondary infringement."

There is no requirement for a copyright to be registered and no copyright registration system.

Copyrights are available for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. The rights arise at the time the original work of authorship is fixed in a tangible medium of expression, and registration is not required to validate the copyright. Registered copyrights are denoted by the symbol ©.

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works, publicly perform and publicly display their works of authorship.