7 Copyright Protections

Copyright protection does not continue indefinitely. Copyright laws provide for a period of time during which the rights of the copyright owner exist and may be exploited. The period or duration of copyright begins from the moment the work is created or, under some national laws, when it is expressed or “fixed” in tangible form.

Copyright protection continues, in general, until a certain time after the death of the author. The purpose of this provision in the law is to enable the author’s successors to benefit economically from exploitation of the work even after the author’s death

In some countries moral rights continue in perpetuity after the end of the term of economic rights. 

In countries party to the Berne Convention and some other countries, the duration of copyright provided in national law is, as a general rule, the life of the author plus not less than 50 years after the author’s death.

There is a trend in a number of countries to lengthen the duration of copyright to the life of the author plus 70 years after the author’s death. The Berne Convention and many national laws also establish periods of protection for works such as anonymous, posthumous and cinematographic works where it is not possible to base duration on the life of an individual author.

“Understanding Copyright and Related Rights” World Intellectual Property Organization (CC BY 3.0 IGO)