You need not to be a lawyer for this, copyright is NOT patent. You might want to look at Berne ConventionBerne Convention and its applicability.
Berne Convention, Berne also spelled Bern, formally International Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, international copyright agreement adopted by an international conference in Bern (Berne) in 1886 and subsequently modified several times (Berlin, 1908; Rome, 1928; Brussels, 1948; Stockholm, 1967; and Paris, 1971). Signatories of the Convention constitute the Berne Copyright Union.
