What is copyright?
Article 1 of the Copyright Act (Auteurswet) states that copyright is the exclusive right of the originator of a literary, scientific or artistic work to publish, and multiply a piece of work.
The Act refers to these as exploitation rights. The exploitation rights of your work may also be vested with your employer, for instance in case of teaching materials.
In addition, copyright includes moral rights. These rights are so closely connected to the person of the originator that they cannot be transferred to someone else.
In order to further the exchange of information, the Copyright Act provides for statutory restrictions to the copyright, which means that in certain cases it is possible to use copyright-protected material without permission.
You can find more information on how to retain the rights to your work under the heading ‘Licences’.
