The function of Copyright Law is to determine and protect authority rights of writers over a piece of work and is administered by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. Copyright Law grants exclusive rights to the owner of the work to reproduce, distribute, perform, display or license their work and its derivatives. Copying of a work is prohibited by law, but another person may also copy the ideas contained within the work and that is why it is recommended that the author also register the work in the Copyright Office. Victims of copyright violations may include authors working in different original areas: architectural design, machine construction, software, graphic arts, sound recordings, etc.

Under current Law, works are covered whether or not a copyright notice is attached and whether or not the work is registered.