Copyright owners have the sole legal right to:
These are known as economic rights. A copyright owner can license any or all of these rights to another entity (individual or organization) temporarily, or assign (transfer) them to another entity permanently.
Copyright owners are also entitled to moral rights, which include
Even if a creator has assigned their copyright in a work to another entity, the creator would continue to hold the moral rights to the work. Moral rights can be waived or bequeathed but cannot be assigned (transferred).
These rights are qualified by certain exceptions which balance the copyright owner’s interests with the public interest in allowing use of works for purposes such as education and research, such as fair dealing.