What is the minimum I should know about literary and artistic property?
Broadly speaking, copyright protects literary, musical and any artistic work (writings and any type of publication, paintings, melodies, images and films). It also protects databases, software, satellite broadcasting and cable transmissions. The protection is informal. This means that the work is protected as soon as it is expressed in a tangible manner (i.e. physically formed or published). The quality or length of the work is of no account as the law protects new and original artistic or literary works regardless of their interest or size. Protection covers the formulation and expression of the ideas but not the ideas themselves. Indeed, ideas can never be protected because they are no one’s property. Nonetheless, copyright laws protect the way they are exposed in the work. In general protection last approximately 70 years after the death of the author but the length depends on national law. When the period of protection is over the work falls into the public domain.
