Copyright and its Components; a Manifestation of Intellectual Property

"Copyright" is a subset of literary and artistic property and a branch of intellectual property. It refers to any innovative attempt which gives the right to its owner to whenever he/she wills copy and makes use of its material consequences. The right of copying and publishing one's work is regarded among the preliminaries and preconditions of making use of its benefits. Disregarding copyright not only deprives its owner from material benefits, but also eliminates the spirit of creativity and destabilizes the culture of society. Copyright is a new subject in fiqh and law which has been vastly changed with the economical, industrial, and cultural developments of human societies. Having explained the concept of copyright, its relationship with intellectual property and recognized its components, the present paper investigates the position of copyright in legal doctrines and its components in the existing laws. Finally it discusses the basic fundamentals of supporting copyright.