What rights are protected by copyright?

The Copyright Act provides six exclusive rights which a copyright gives to the copyright owner (so the benefit of owning a copyright is that the owner, and only the owner, can do the following):

(1) The exclusive right to reproduce - the copyright owner has the exclusive right to make copies of the protected work.

(2) The exclusive right to prepare derivative works - the copyright owner has the exclusive right to make adaptations based on the protected work.

(3) The exclusive right to distribute - the copyright owner has the exclusive right to distribute (sell, rent, lease, etc.) copies or phonorecords of the protected work to the public.

(4) The exclusive right of public performance - the copyright owner has the exclusive right to publicly perform the protected work. This right applies to literary, musical, dramatic and choreographed works, as well as motion pictures and other audiovisual works, but not to pictorial, graphic and sculptural works, architectural works or sound recordings.

(5) The exclusive right of display - the copyright owner has the exclusive right to publicly display the protected work. This right applies to all types of works except architectural works and sound recordings.

(6) The exclusive right of public performance of sound recordings - the right to publicly perform sound recordings by digital audio transmission.

The ownership of a copyright is divisible, so these rights can actually be spread out among different owners. For example, the owner of a copyright in a book may grant someone the exclusive right to adapt that book into a movie, while retaining the exclusive right to reproduce, publicly perform, etc.