Le droit d'auteur est un terme juridique qui confère au créateur d'une œuvre originale des droits exclusifs d'utilisation et de distribution, généralement pour une période de temps limitée. Ce concept a vu le jour en Angleterre, avec l'adoption du Licensing of the Press Act en 1662 et du Statute of Anne en 1710. Au fil des siècles, les lois sur le droit d'auteur ont considérablement évolué, et des traités et conventions internationaux tels que la Convention de Berne et la Convention universelle sur le droit d'auteur ont normalisé ces droits à l'échelle mondiale. Le droit d'auteur s'applique à une grande variété d'expressions créatives, notamment les œuvres littéraires, la musique, les films, les chorégraphies, les peintures, les logiciels, les émissions et les dessins. Il est important de noter que la protection du droit d'auteur exige un niveau minimal d'originalité et qu'elle expire généralement après une période déterminée.
A droit d'auteur is a type of intellectual property that gives the creator of an original work, or another right holder, the exclusive and legally secured right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself. A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States.
Some jurisdictions require "fixing" copyrighted works in a tangible form. It is often shared among multiple authors, each of whom holds a set of rights to use or license the work, and who are commonly referred to as rights holders.[better source needed] These rights normally include reproduction, control over derivative works, distribution, public performanceet moral rights such as attribution.
Copyrights can be granted by public law and are in that case considered "territorial rights". This means that copyrights granted by the law of a certain state do not extend beyond the territory of that specific jurisdiction. Copyrights of this type vary by country; many countries, and sometimes a large group of countries, have made agreements with other countries on procedures applicable when works "cross" national borders or national rights are inconsistent.
Typically, the public law duration of a copyright expires 50 to 100 years after the creator dies, depending on the jurisdiction. Some countries require certain copyright formalities to establishing copyright, others recognize copyright in any completed work, without a formal registration. When the copyright of a work expires, it enters the public domain.