To answer who is an author under copyright law, an author is the person who creates an original work, like a book, song, or painting & fixes it in a tangible form such as writing it down or record it.

The work needs to show some creativity, but it doesn’t have to be highly innovative. For example, a novel or a photograph can be copyrighted, but titles or short phrases usually can’t. Usually, the author owns the copyright, but there are exceptions. If the work is made as part of a job (called a “work made for hire”), the employer is considered the author and owns the copyright. Authors can also transfer ownership, like selling rights to a publisher. For joint works, like a song written by two people, both are co-authors and share ownership. For derivative works, like a movie based on a book, the new creator can c ...