title: Are default program icons protected by copyright?
body: <p>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.</p>
  
  <p>Are these icons copyright protected or can they be use in applications?</p>
  
  <p>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.</p>