Works protected under Copyright in Pakistan
What Works Are Protected
Copyright protects “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device. Copyright-able works include the following categories:
- literary works;
- musical works, including any accompanying words
- dramatic works, including any accompanying music
- pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
- motion pictures and other audiovisual works
- sound recordings
- architectural works
These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer programs and most “compilations” may be registered as “literary works”.
What Is Not Protected by Copyright
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for copyright protection. These include among others:
- Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of
- Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration
Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources).