Subject to a variety of limitations in the copyright law, the owner of a copyright has the following overlapping, exclusive rights:

• To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords;
  


• To prepare derivative works based upon the work (derivative works are adaptations based upon the original work, such as a foreign language translation or an improved version of software);
  


• To distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by renting, leasing or lending;
  


• To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
  


• To display the copyrighted work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and
  


• In the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.
  



In addition, certain authors of works of visual art have the rights of attribution and integrity as described in section 106A of the 1976 Copyright Act. For further information, request Copyright Office Circular 40 "Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts."