
What is a tangible medium?
The Copyright Act requires that a work of authorship be fixed in a tangible medium. There are two categories of objects which qualify as tangible medium - copies and phonorecords.
The Copyright Act defines a copy as any material object other than phonorecords, which allows a work to be fixed so that they can later be seen, copied or communicated, either directly or with the help of a device. This is a broad definition that includes everything from books and computer disks to wall carvings.
The Copyright Act defines a phonorecord as any material object which allows sounds (except for the sounds that go with a movie or audiovisual work) to be fixed so that they can later be heard, copied or communicated. So phonorecords are albums, tapes, CDs, etc.