What are Copyright and Related Rights?

Copyright laws grant authors, artists, and other creators protection for their literary and artistic creations, generally referred to as “works”. A closely associated field is “related rights”, or rights related to copyright that encompass rights similar or identical to those of copyright, although sometimes more limited and of shorter duration. The beneficiaries of related rights are: (a) performers (such as actors and musicians) in their performances; (b) producers of phonograms (for example, compact discs) in their sound recordings; and (c) broadcasting organizations in their radio and television programs.
Works covered by copyright include, but are not limited to: novels, poems, plays, reference works, newspapers, advertisements, computer programs, databases, films, musical compositions, choreography, paintings, drawings, photographs, sculpture, architecture, maps, and technical drawings.