Kopierings

Kopiering, or copying, is the process of creating one or more replicas of an original object, document, file, or medium. It encompasses analog duplication—such as photocopying documents or reproducing photographs—and digital duplication, such as copying files, software, or entire drives.

Methods and forms: Analog copying uses devices like photocopiers, scanners, or film duplicators; digital copying uses computers and storage to replicate data, including file copies, disk cloning, and backups. Copying can be exact (bit-for-bit) or involve transformations, such as format conversion or compression, which may affect quality or fidelity.

Legal and ethical aspects: Copying protected works is subject to copyright law and licensing. In Sweden, copying is governed by the Swedish Copyright Act (Upphovsrättslagen), with allowances for private use, educational use, and library lending, while distribution and public performance require permission. Copying mechanisms may be restricted by digital rights management.

Technology and impact: Copying is central to archiving, software deployment, and data backup, but also a focus of anti-piracy efforts. Copy quality depends on the method and media; hardware aging or lossy codecs can degrade copies.

See also: Copying, Copy protection, Backup, Archiving, Digital rights management.