Includes the exclusive rights to reproduce, sell, distribute, perform , display , and license the original work or derivative works. Notice and registration are not required. The duration of a copyright varies greatly depending on the year in which it was created or published because the law has been amended several times, most recently in October of 1998. Currently, a copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years.
Publication includes loaning, leasing, selling, or giving away copies of the work.
The author may also put the work into the public domain before expiration of the statutory period by expressly saying so. The Classroom Guidelines are not binding on any court.