A copyright is a legal right granted to someone who produces original works of art or scholarship such as an author, composer, musician, or playwright. Sometimes the copyright is held by the publisher or distributor or such work as in the case of record companies who purchase rights from musicians. The exclusive right to sell, publish, produce, or distribute the product is protected by copyright law. The law applies to any literary, musical, dramatic, scholarly, or artistic work and means that the work cannot be copied without permission from the creator or publisher. Variations do exit. For instance, some materials produced more than 50 years ago and not protected with a copyright symbol may be in the public domain and available for use by the general public without acquiring permission from a creator or publisher.--Back to TEKS

The common term for Intellectual Property Rights.