Research Guides: Copyright: What is Copyright?

WHAT IS?

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws to the authors of original works including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works.

A work to be protected by the law should fulfill the following criteria:

Originality: only work that encompass creativity are protected.
Tangibility: works should be translated in a tangible form. The law doesn’t protect ideas that are not written or recorded in some form.

Registration is not a requirement, the work is protected automatically once it is created.

WHAT IS COMMERCIAL RIGHT?

The law gives the owner of copyright the following exclusive rights:

To reproduce the work (i.e. to make copies);
To create derivative works (i.e. to make a movie from a book or to translate a work into another language);
To distribute copies publicly;
To perform the work publicly (i.e. a play or movie); and
To display the work publicly.

Most of the laws include exceptions for educational and personal use.
Copyright term expires after 50 years from the death of the author and works pass into the public domain.

WHAT IS MORAL RIGHT?

The right of the original author to be mentioned (cited) whenever his work is used
When you don’t cite, you will not only be accused of Plagiarism, but it is also considered a law infringement/violation.
Moral right is is perpetual. While commercial rights expire 50 years after the death of the author, the moral right has not time elapse.

The University of Balamand observes and follows the Lebanese law for the Protection of Intellectual Property and international agreements.
UOB Libraries encourage users to abide by copyright laws and to understand the Fair Use concept in order to exercise good judgment when fulfilling their educational needs.
Library staff has the right to refuse any photocopying request if the request involves copyright infringement.