Which of the following is an example of a tangible medium of expression?

• A. Movies, TV
• B. Podcasts, YouTube
• C. Screenplays, books, poems, magazine articles
• D. Photos, pictures, graphics, sculptures

Answer: (A)

A tangible medium of expression is a physical embodiment of a work that can be perceived, stored, and reproduced. Movies and TV fit this squarely because they are fixed audiovisual works produced and stored on a tangible medium—film stock, tape, DVDs/Blu-rays, or digital storage—so the entire program exists as a concrete object you can view or reproduce.

Podcasts and YouTube are typically encountered as streams, or as downloadable files, which makes their primary mode of delivery more about digital access than a fixed, physical embodiment. Screenplays, books, poems, and magazine articles are indeed fixed when written or printed, but they represent written works rather than the finished audiovisual product that clearly demonstrates a tangible medium of expression in the broad sense. Photos, pictures, graphics, and sculptures are tangible visual works too, but they illustrate still art rather than the audiovisual medium that the example emphasizes.