Own it or Get deleted

The main legislation dealing with copyright in the United Kingdom is the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988

 
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Copyright

Copyright is one of the main types of intellectual property others include designs, patents and trademarks. 

Intellectual property allows a person to own things they create in the same way as something physical can be owned. It is the right to prevent others copying or reproducing someone's work.

When Does Copyrights Arise ?

Copyright arises automatically when a work that qualifies for protection is produced. The work must be original in that it needs to originate with the author who will have used some judgment or skill to create the work - simply copying a work does not make it original.   There is no need in the UK to register copyright.  When an idea is committed to paper or another fixed form, it can be protected by copyright.  It is the expression of the idea that is protected and not the idea itself.  People cannot be stopped from borrowing an idea or producing something similar but can be stopped from copying. 

What Does Copyrights Protect?

The main categories of works currently protected in the UK include:

·         original literary works such as novels or poems, tables or lists and computer programmes

·         original dramatic works such as dance or mime

·         original musical works, ie the musical notes themselves

·         original artistic works such as graphic works (paintings, drawings etc), photographs and sculptures

·         sound recordings

·         films

·         broadcasts

·         typographical arrangements (ie the layout or actual appearance) of published editions

Who Own Copyright?

As a general rule, the owner of the copyright is the person who created it, i.e. the author.  An author could be the writer, the composer, the artist, the producer or the publisher or another creator depending on the type of work. 

Copyright Infringement

It is an infringement of copyright to do any of the following acts in relation to a substantial part of a work protected by copyright without the consent or authorisation of the copyright owner:

·         copy it

·         issue copies of it to the public

·         rent or lend it to the public

·         perform or show it in public

·         communicate it to the public

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As mentioned above, for infringement to take place it must involve a substantial part of the work. Whether or not the part to be reproduced is substantial is subjective and the quality, importance or significance of the extract are equally as important (some may say more so) as the quantity of words or lines - using just four lines of a poem or even a four word extract have been found to be substantial.  The test is subjective. It is often said that if something is worth copying, it is worth protecting.