What is a copyright?

The copyright is peculiar compared to other intellectual property rights since the legal protection emerges through the creation of the literary or artistic work and not through any kind of registration. A copyright protection aims itself at the artistic form and the concrete form of a work and thus not the underlying characteristics such as ideas, principles and the technical function. These are handled in accordance with the Patent Act and/or the Utility Model Act.

In order to obtain copyright it is a fundamental claim that a work has to be of literary or artistic nature and fulfill the so-called claim for originality. Originality means that the work has to be the result of individual creative effort from the originator; the work has to be distinctive and individual. No demands are made to the quality of the art work in order for it to obtain copyright protection, and it does not necessarily need to be completed. Sketches etc. can also be protected by copyright.

The purpose of the copyright is protection of literary and artistic work against unlawful commercial use. As a consequence of the copyright the originator can partly prohibit somebody else from using the work and partly by consenting enable other persons to obtain access to use the copyright protected work. This use can be made conditional on a reasonable remuneration. Thus, the copyright protection provides the originator with the exclusive right of reproduction as well as the exclusive right to make the work available for the public.