The exclusive rights of copyright owners

Copyright owners enjoy a bundle of exclusive rights in relation to protected copyright material. The rights are exclusive in the sense that they can only be exercised with the copyright owner’s consent. This means that the copyright owner can stop others from doing any of the acts protected by copyright, and permit others to use the copyright work with his or her “licence”. Licence is an agreement based on copyright owner’s permission or consent; the owner can withhold or grant permission to use the copyright on certain terms and conditions. The copyright owner’s privilege to impose conditions, such as payment of a licence fee, or royalties, and to prevent others from using the copyright unless these conditions are fulfilled, makes copyright a valuable commercial or economic right.

The two categories of materials protected under copyright law —“works' and “subject matter other than works' have varying exclusive rights that apply to them. The following table summarises the types of copyright materials, and the rights the law currently protects.

Exclusive Rights	Literary & Dramatic & Musical Works	Artistic Works	Sound recordings	Films	TV & Sound Broadcasts	Published Editions
To make a reproduction or copy	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
To publish	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
To perform in public/cause to be seen/heard in public	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
To communicate	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
To make an adaptation	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
To enter into a commercial rental arrangement	Yes only works (other than computer programs) stored on sound recordings, & computer programs	No	Yes	No	No	No
To do any of the above in relation to an adaptation	Yes	No	No	No	No	No