Under copyright, which condition allows an idea to be protected?

Under copyright, which condition allows an idea to be protected?

• A. The idea must be fixed into material form
• B. An idea is protected by itself regardless of form
• C. Ideals or concepts are protected when they are simple
• D. Protection applies only after the work is published

Answer: (A)

The key idea being tested is that copyright protection starts only when a work is fixed in a tangible form. An idea by itself isn’t protected; it becomes protectable when you capture that idea in a material medium—writing it down, recording it, or otherwise fixing it as a perceptible expression. That fixation is what brings the work under copyright protection, which is why the correct choice says the idea must be fixed into material form. The other notions don’t fit because copyright doesn’t protect ideas in themselves, regardless of how simple they are, and protection doesn’t depend on publication—it's triggered by fixation, not by whether the work has been published.

The key idea being tested is that copyright protection starts only when a work is fixed in a tangible form. An idea by itself isn’t protected; it becomes protectable when you capture that idea in a material medium—writing it down, recording it, or otherwise fixing it as a perceptible expression. That fixation is what brings the work under copyright protection, which is why the correct choice says the idea must be fixed into material form.

The other notions don’t fit because copyright doesn’t protect ideas in themselves, regardless of how simple they are, and protection doesn’t depend on publication—it's triggered by fixation, not by whether the work has been published.