Copyright is acquired automatically when an author creates an original work or other subject matter. Since copyright is granted automatically upon creation it is not required by law to file an application to protect copyright works.

The creators of original works protected by copyright, and their heirs, have certain basic rights. They hold the exclusive right to use or authorize others to use the work on agreed terms. There are two categories of rights; moral rights and economic rights. The creator of a work can prohibit or authorise:

1- Its reproduction in various forms, such as printed publication or sound recording;
2- Its public performance, as in a play or musical work;
3- Recordings of it, for example in the form of compact discs, cassettes or videotapes;
4- Its broadcasting, by radio, cable, satellite.
5- Its translation into other languages, or its adaptation such as novel onto screenplay.

Many creative works protected by copyright require mass distribution, communication, and financial investment, for their dissemination (for example, publications, sound recordings, and films); hence, creators often sell the right to their work to individuals or companies best able to market the works in return for payment.