The word copyright means, literally, the right to copy. It is the legal expression of a fundamental property right that has since existed since the earliest civilizations, but only emerged as distinct legal right after invention of the printing press. Before printing, the rights in words and symbols were perceived as a single property right that arose as soon as they were carved in stone, painted on skins, written on papyrus or fixed in another tangible medium of expression.<\/p>\n

Printing technology didn’t change the concept of written works as property, but it triggered awareness of an important distinction — the difference between the tangible object upon which written words were fixed and the intangible expression of a unique work created through the writer’s selection and arrangement of those words.<\/p>\n

This distinction between physical property and intellectual property formed the basis of copyright law. Copyright was the first intellectual property right recognized in law as the technology revolution unraveled new strands in the ancient bundle of intellectual property rights.<\/p>\n

Exclusive rights of the copyright owner (section 106 , title 17, U.S. Code) are:<\/p>\n