Are default program icons protected by copyright?
icons
Solution
Yes, the icons are copyrighted, in this case by Microsoft.
Problem
If you look at files in Windows Explorer, a DOC file has it's icon, a PDF, etc. That is if the application is installed on the computer. Are these icons copyright protected or can they be use in applications? Reason is: I want to show a standard "Word Document" icon for a .doc file to the user, even if Word is not installed on the current computer.