Copyright
Webster's Dictionary [1]
(1): (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.
(2): (v. t.) To secure a copyright on.
The Nuttall Encyclopedia [2]
The sole right of an author or his heirs to publish a work for a term of years fixed by statute, a book for 42 years, or the author's lifetime and 7 years after, whichever is longer; copyright covers literary, artistic, and musical property. By the Act an author must present one copy of his work, if published, to the British Museum, and one copy, if demanded, to the Bodleian Library, Oxford; the University Library, Cambridge; the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh; and Trinity College Library, Dublin.