Copyright is a form of intellectual property law that grants creators exclusive rights over their original works for a limited time. This includes literary works, music, films, artwork, and other creative works. While copyright protects the original expression of ideas, it does not cover the ideas themselves. The copyright symbol © indicates that a work is protected, but is not required for protection. Fair use allows for limited unlicensed use of copyrighted works for purposes like criticism, commentary, or research.