Who is the automatic copyright owner of a creative work?

• A. The person who translates the idea into the work
• B. The person who wrote the original idea
• C. The organization funding the work
• D. The publisher

Answer: (A)

Copyright ownership attaches automatically to the person who actually creates the work by fixing the idea in a tangible form. In other words, the creator who expresses the idea—turning it into writing, art, music, code, etc.—is the owner from the moment the work exists in a form that can be perceived. Funding or publishing does not automatically grant ownership unless there’s a specific agreement, such as a work-for-hire arrangement or an explicit assignment. So the person who translates the idea into a concrete, fixed work is the best answer, because it’s the act of creation and fixation that establishes ownership.