For example, in the music business, there have been numerous controversies in recent decades over whether the use of samples of other songs in recorded music is a violation of the fair use doctrine, which allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted works under certain circumstances.
Like culture itself, copyright law has had to quickly evolve to keep up with the changes of the information age. Copyright protections are very important for supporting cultural development as well as innovation, as they enable creators in all fields to earn a living from their work. The type of works eligible for copyright include novels, movies, paintings, songs, educational materials, computer software code, and more. Copyright is an aspect of intellectual property law that gives authors the exclusive right to make copies of an original creative work, typically for a period of years or even decades.