Quote:
Originally Posted by Quoth
Actually it also applies to music, software, electronic designs, paintings, sculpture, building plans, photography, movies/TV and many other things.
It exists as soon as the "work" starts to be created. It can't be linked to being published. Often software and electronic designs are not published in source form ever, but the source is still copyright.
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As I said, copyright only applies once the creation is committed to a fixed form. Whether that fixed form is the written word, a score, a recording, or a file save on a computer is irrelevant.
Copyright does not exist as soon as the work starts to be created. You can think all you want about a work, imagine the storyline and the words you're going to use, or come up with a tune, and even whistle it. None of those things will be protected by copyright. Only when you write it down or otherwise record it in fixed form does a creation gain copyright protection.
Patents are an entirely separate issue. If you'd like to discuss patents, please start a different thread.