Copy + Right: the right to copy.
In the U.S., a copyright is a right in property. The owner of property has the right to control its use. Therefore, the owner of a copyright has the right to control when/where/by whom copies are made of something. The “something” may be literature, music and its lyrics, dramatic work and its music, choreography, pantomime, visual artworks (pictorial, graphic, or sculpture), movies, films and other audio-visual works, sound recordings, and architectural works.
The original owner of the copyright is the person who made the object that the copyright is attached to. A painter owns the copyright of the painting she made. If a something was made as part of a job, “work made for hire,” then the copyright is usually owned by the employer.
The copyright is separate from the object itself. The painter who makes a painting owns two things: the painting itself and the copyrights. Either of these things can be sold, given away, or otherwise transferred to someone else. If the object, the “work,” is sold or given away, the copyrights do not automatically follow. The painter can sell the painting, but she still has the right to decide if copies can be made of the image.
The copyright is automatically created when the something is completed. In the U.S., there is no required registration, nor is there a requirement to mark the work as 
(copyrighted) . There are, however, some advantages to registration and marking works as copyrighted.
The copyrights are actually a bundle of rights. They include:
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the right to make copies (reproduce); |
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to make derivatives, such as sequels or another work that incorporates or is based upon the first; |
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to distribute the work, such as by sales or rentals; |
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to publicly perform works, such as at a literary reading, a dance, dramatic, or musical performance, or movie screenings; |
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to publicly display the work; and |
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to transmit a performance of a sound recording, such as a radio or television broadcast. |
The copyright owner has the right to control all of these activities related to the work, the something. A copyright owner may permit someone else to perform one of these activities. This process is called licensing. A license may include one or all of the bundled rights, it may be free of cost to the user, or it may be for a payment. A license is usually given for a limited amount of time or for a limited purpose. The painter may decide to license the image of the painting, permitting a publishing company to make and sell 5000 greeting cards of her painted image. This hypothetical license would be limited to 5000 copies, it allows just the printing (reproduction) and the sale (distribution). The rights not included in the license are retained by the copyright owner.
Alternatively, a copyright owner could sell the copyrights in whole or in part. The painter could sell the right to make all copies of the painting to the publishing company-forever. In that situation, the painter would no longer have the right to make her own copies of the work. In fact, the publishing company would then be the owner of the copyright.
When someone other than the owner uses one of the copyrights without the owners permission, this is a violation of the owner’s rights and a violation of the law. This is infringement. Infringement may occur any time when one of the bundled rights is violated. The circumstances where this may occur vary widely. Someone photographs the painter’s painting and without permission of the painter, prints out several inkjet copies and gives them to other people. The painter puts a copy of her painting on her website and someone downloads it onto their computer, without permission. These are simple examples of when the rights of reproduction, distribution and, possibly, public display, have been violated.
When an infringement appears to have occurred, the owner of the copyright may take several actions. She may send a letter to the infringer, demanding that the infringement stop. She may sue the infringer for damages (money) or an injunction (a court order to stop the infringing act). Or, she may take all of these actions, or none. If infringement is found to have occurred, then the infringer (the guilty one) is liable. The infringer may have to pay money to the copyright owner for the use, and sometimes, may have to pay extra costs as well, such as the expense of the owner’s lawsuit (including legal fees).
There are some exceptions to infringement, such as “fair-use.” Because of the First Amendment’s guarantee of the right of free speech, some uses of a copyright are a defense to infringement. These are uses such as opinion, political commentary, news, and such, where the freedom of speech is particularly significant. The fair-use doctrine is limited and does not excuse all possible infringing uses that may constitute speech.
The copyrights are not perpetual, they are limited by law. At the present time, when an individual person has made a something, the copyrights are equal to the life of the author (person who made the work) plus an additional 70 years. This inevitably means that the copyrights continue to exist after the maker, the original owner, dies. As mentioned above, a copyright can be transferred to other persons or organizations. Copyrights can also pass to other people by inheritance.
Once the copyright has expired, then the something enters what is called the “public domain.” Once this happens, anyone can use the work without any restraints. It cannot be re-copyrighted or restricted from use by others. It is free for use by the public.
This concludes a very basic review of copyright concepts. The articles following below delve further into the finer points and specifics of the issues discussed here.
The media & more: The Essentials of Copyrightability - Original Creation, Subject Matter, and Fixation
The Exclusive Rights - an excerpt from the Copyright Law, Section 106 (statutory text).
Time: the Duration of Copyright Protection
Authorship and Ownership of Copyrights
When the rights begin - Accrual of Copyrights and About the Mark and Registration
Infringement and Fair-Use
International Copyright - considerations for artists, including internet issues
Using eCO, the Online Copyright Registration System
See also The Value of Art and the Natural Rights of the Artist: A Discussion of Moral Rights
Addition Resources:
October 2008 Amendment to Copyright Law, including infringement enforcement and penalties (pdf, souce: U.S. Copyright Office).
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