Copyright law protects an author’s original material, usually (in the UK) for 70 years following their death. Similar law covers logos and brand names. Copyright is a collection of exclusive rights allocated to the author or creator of an original work. This includes the right to copy, share and adapt the work. Copyright however, does not protect ideas, only their delivery. In most areas of authority, copyright appears upon some sort of fixture in a media and does not need to be registered.

See also:
Trademark
Freelancer