Copyright - copywrite
From Hull AWE
Revision as of 14:54, 17 July 2007 by JoachimNoreiko (Talk | contribs)
Copyright is a legal concept to do with reproducing works such as music, films, books, and so on. It is literally the right to copy something. The author of a work has this right (automatically in British law), and can grant it or sell it to others, such as a publisher. The word copyright is a noun, and also a verb, meaning "To secure copyright for; to protect by copyright" (OED). OED also has copyrighter, a person who secures copyright.
The above forms can easily be confused with copywrite and copywriter. A copywriter is a person who writes copy -- that is, text usually destined for newspaper, magazine, or advertisement. An editor might say "Write me 200 words of copy on the cat stuck up the tree".
