Copyright:

I've been looking at copyright recently and as it plays such a big role in the design industry I'll give you a brief overview.
In short, copyright is the exclusive right to make copies, license and otherwise exploit a piece of work in any form.
The main things you need to know about copyright are that:
  - Copyright protection is free and automatically applied when material is created.
  - In Australia, there isn't a registration system for copyright.
  - Copyright protects textural material, computer programs, complications, artistic, dramatic and muscial works, cinematograph films, sound recordings, broadcasts, published editions.
  - Copyright doesn't protect ideas, information, styles, techniques, names, titles or slogans.
  - As of the 1 January 2005 the general duration of copyright in Australia is the life of the creatior plus 70years.
There is quite a bit of information out there about copyright but the best websites I found are:
http://www.copyright.org.au/ (particularly easy to navigate and contains much of the basic information you need to know).
http://www.copyright.com.au/
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/ (the above two require a little bit more knowledge and are not a easy to navigate, but are useful none the less).

Lets start by defining design. In short, it is the preliminary sketch or plans for a work to be executed.
So that makes a designer someone who devises or executes designs.
Now i'll stop reciting the dictionary, but looking at the above definitions it's pretty obvious that a designer has a lot of scope. Let us assume that the majority of designers design solutions to human needs (commercial, industrial, etc). The most widely known and/or recognised desgners include:
    - Costume Designers
    - Digital Media Designers
    - Fashion Designers
    - Graphic Designers
    - Industrial Designers
    - Interior Designers
    - Jewellery Designers
    - Textile Designers
There are many more designers out there who might specialise in Film and Set Design, etc. It is a void, an expanding industry, a constantly evolving concept. No matter what you personally are into, there is an area or niche in the industry that will suit you.
I have found this website for the Design Institute of Australia which has some great information about Design. Be sure to check it out.
http://www.dia.org.au/index.cfm?id=3