Final answer:
A copyright does not protect creative works before they are fixed in a tangible form of expression; it is false to say that they are protected prior to this. The copyright protection begins once the work is definitively captured in a medium that allows it to be perceived and reproduced.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question of whether a copyright protects creative works even before they appear in a tangible fixed form is false. Copyright is a form of legal protection granted for original works of authorship once they are fixed in a tangible form of expression. This means that the ideas alone are not protected by copyright; the work must be captured in a medium (like being written down, recorded, or saved to a digital file) that allows it to be perceived and reproduced or communicated for more than a short time. Moreover, copyright protection exists automatically from the moment the original work of authorship is fixed.
Examples of copyrightable works include literary works, musical works with accompanying words, and many others. Once a work is copyrighted, no one else can reproduce, display, or perform that work without the author's permission, and copyright protection often lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. This protection ensures that only the copyright owner has the authority to decide how, when, and where to sell, display, or reproduce their work.