Which statement correctly describes copyright?

Which statement correctly describes copyright?

• A. The exclusive right to copy, distribute, and profit from a work
• B. The right to patent inventions
• C. The right to publish freely
• D. The right to claim authorship

Answer: (A)

Copyright gives the creator exclusive control over how their original work, fixed in a tangible form, is copied, distributed, performed or displayed, and used to create derivatives, with the ability to profit from those uses. This is why the statement describing the exclusive right to copy, distribute, and profit from a work is the best fit. It captures the core power copyright grants: control over reproduction and use of the work and the ability to monetize it. Patents protect inventions, not creative works, so that other option doesn’t fit. The idea of publishing freely isn’t a blanket entitlement under copyright—copyright actually sets permission-based limits on how works can be published or shared. And copyright isn’t merely about claiming authorship; authorship identifies the creator, while copyright governs the rights to use, reproduce, and profit from the work.

Copyright gives the creator exclusive control over how their original work, fixed in a tangible form, is copied, distributed, performed or displayed, and used to create derivatives, with the ability to profit from those uses. This is why the statement describing the exclusive right to copy, distribute, and profit from a work is the best fit. It captures the core power copyright grants: control over reproduction and use of the work and the ability to monetize it.

Patents protect inventions, not creative works, so that other option doesn’t fit. The idea of publishing freely isn’t a blanket entitlement under copyright—copyright actually sets permission-based limits on how works can be published or shared. And copyright isn’t merely about claiming authorship; authorship identifies the creator, while copyright governs the rights to use, reproduce, and profit from the work.