The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Copyright \Cop"y*right`\, v. t.
   To secure a copyright on.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Copyright \Cop"y*right\, n.
   The right of an author or his assignee, under statute, to
   print and publish his literary or artistic work, exclusively
   of all other persons. This right may be had in maps, charts,
   engravings, plays, and musical compositions, as well as in
   books.
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: In the United States in 1913 a copyright was valid for
         the term of twenty-eight years, with right of renewal
         for fourteen years on certain conditions. The term was
         extended in stages, and in 1997 the term of a copyright
         was life plus 50 years for individuals retaining their
         copyright, or 75 years for works created for hire.
         Further extension is still (1998) being discussed.
         [1913 Webster +PJC]

   International copyright, an author's right in his
      productions as secured by treaty between nations.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

copyright
    n 1: a document granting exclusive right to publish and sell
         literary or musical or artistic work [syn: copyright,
         right of first publication]
    v 1: secure a copyright on a written work; "did you copyright
         your manuscript?"

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 January 2023):

copyright

    The exclusive rights of the owner of the copyright on
   a work to make and distribute copies, prepare derivative
   works, and perform and display the work in public (these last
   two mainly apply to plays, films, dances and the like, but
   could also apply to software).

   A work, including a piece of software, is under copyright by
   default in most coutries, whether of not it displays a
   copyright notice.  However, a copyright notice may make it
   easier to assert ownership.  The copyright owner is the person
   or company whose name appears in the copyright notice on the
   box, or the disk or the screen or wherever.  Most countries
   have agreed to uphold each others' copyrights.

   A copyright notice has three parts.  The first can be either the
   copyright symbol (a letter C in a circle), the word "Copyright"
   or the abbreviation "Copr".  Only the first of these is recognised
   internationally and the common ASCII rendering "(C)" is not
   valid anywhere.  This is followed by the name of the copyright
   holder and the year of publication.  The year should be the year
   of _first_ publication, it is not necessary as some believe to
   update this every year to the current year.  Copyright protection
   in most countries extends for 50 years after the author's death.

   Originally, most of the computer industry assumed that only
   the program's underlying instructions were protected under
   copyright law but, beginning in the early 1980s, a series of
   lawsuits involving the video screens of game programs extended
   protections to the appearance of programs.

   Use of copyright to restrict redistribution is immoral,
   unethical and illegitimate.  It is a result of brainwashing by
   monopolists and corporate interests and it violates everyone's
   rights.  Such use of copyrights and patents hamper
   technological progress by making a naturally abundant resource
   scarce.  Many, from communists to right wing libertarians, are
   trying to abolish intellectual property myths.

   See also public domain, copyleft, software law.

   Universal Copyright Convention

(http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/creativity/creative-industries/copyright/).

   US Copyright Office (http://copyright.gov/).

   Usenet newsgroup: news:misc.legal.computing.

   [Is this definition correct in the UK?  In the US?  Anywhere?]

   (2014-01-08)