Q. What rights does a copyright owner own?

The copyright owner has the exclusive right to:

• make copies
• prepare derivative works
• publicly distribute, display and perform the work
• to perform a digital sound recording over a digital network.

There are limits on these, including certain rights of people who own a copy, and what is called fair use.  These rights can also be transferred by contract (you can "sign your rights away" to a publisher, for instance).

For more information, see the University of Texas' webpage Your rights as copyright owner.