C

Cyber law (cyber law, internet law)

A term used to describe intellectual property law issues related to the realm of software and the Internet, or the use of communication technology in a virtual world. It is a rapidly growing intersection of many legal fields, including intellectual property, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction. However, there are still no strict legal principles governing conduct and commerce in cyberspace.

Copyright

A form of protection provided to the authors of ‘original works of authorship’, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to reproduce the work, prepare derivative works, or publicly perform or display it. Copyright does not protect ideas, procedures, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, or discoveries. Facts, phrases, and blank forms are also not protected. Until 1989, a copyright notice had to be placed on any copyrighted material. After this date, copyright notices are not required, but are sometimes still used to capture a better level of statutory protection.