COPYRIGHT PROTECTION FOR LITERARY WORKS

Aside life, property is one of man's most priced possession;mostly because of the mental, physical and sometimes  financial effort expended in acquiring same,Property could be described as anything capable of being owned, it could be copereal or incopereal, tangible or intangible.

Therefore the energy and labor required in securing any property makes it worthy to be protected by law and also yield profits for the owner of the property, in other words ,one should reap "the fruits of his labour". Given the description of property,there's no gain saying; *intellectual* *property* adequately fits in,since it's a product of one's creative mind.

Intellectual property is the product of one's mental effort, creative exertion  Or better still creative labour,Hence, the laws seeks to guarantee, protect and reward creative efforts.

In order to achieve the above,there are several legal means in law namely; copyright Act, trademarks Act, patent and Design Act...

You may have heard of copyright, or seen the © sign while reading any kind of book and online publications,warning you not to do certain things concerning the work.

Now,as readers and writers,we are about to know the meaning of copyright, how to acquire it, the extent of its protection, and what not to do while we read creative works protected by copyright...

Copyright protection.
Ordinarily, this would appear to be the right to copy or make copies. But that would be very restrictive.Copyright is the exclusive right bestowed on the author over his creative work to prevent others from reproduction, adaptation ,translation and distribution of his creative works without express permission.

Copyright therefore protects six categories of works namely; literary works, artistic works, musical works, cinematography, sound recording and broadcast.

Our focus here will be on literary works:
 Literary works includes;Novels, plays, short stories, poems,  stage directions, broadcasting scripts, textbooks, essays, sermons,Letters, lectures,articles.just to mention a few.

Now the big question.What qualifies my work to be protected by copyright?
 It's a legal term. That means properties that can be seen intangible.

The truth is there's nothing special. No need for registration, it's not compulsory to use the ©sign or add the copyright warning. I will explain shortly.

 There are just two grounds that qualifies your creative work to be protected by copyright and nothing more

*Originality:This means that the work(that novel, poem, play, etc) must be a direct product of your creativity.You must be the author and that you have not copied from any other work. The work must originate from you.You can not tag your name to a work and claim it.You must be the author.

*Fixation:My Name is Tamunokuro precious Dauphin,it means the work must be fixed in a "definite medium of expression ".In other words it has been "expressed",for example.It's a novel, play, poem, an article, letter,or any other medium to be known later. The work must have been expressed

Copyright does not protect an idea. It must be expressed.Because of course the creativity lies in the expression.

So when you exchange an idea with a person.And the person expresses it in a know medium.You can not lay claim to it.

Nothing more.The use of the sign or copyright warning is just an "extra effort "to notify the public,that your work is protected.You're not obligated to do so.

Another issue is the duration of copyright protection. Does it last forever?
 No it doesn't. For literary works.Its 70years after  the day the author dies.That's why Shakespearen works can be used by just anybody.No copyright protection.

 It should be noted that copyright protection will apply irrespective of the "literary quality".So you can not use a persons work without permission on the basis that it's  lacks quality.

The question would also be. Is it original and fixated.The word "and" its conjunctive meaning both must be present.

FACILITATOR:Tamunokuro precious Dauphin;a legal practitioner.