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Meaning of Copyright
Copyright is a statutory right to stop others copying or exploiting authors’ works in various other ways without permission. Copyright typically lasts for the duration of the author’s life plus another 70 years.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 creates several different categories of ‘work’ in which copyright can exist, and different owners or authors of works. The principal categories of protected work are:
Owning the copyright in a work gives the owner the exclusive right to:
Copyright does not exist in a work until it is recorded in some written or other form. For example, a musical work is not protected until recorded on a digital audio tape or the like. It is generally the reproduction of that form which is restricted. Ideas themselves are not protected and recourse in such cases is made to the developing law of confidence.
The ownership of copyright is distinct from the ownership of the physical record of the work. For instance, a photographer may own the copyright of the artistic work he or she creates, but not the film on which it is recorded. Separate ownership of the physical property can restrict the use of the work. The owner or author of the copyright is normally the creator or creators of it in the case of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work. However, special rules apply in relation to copyright of other works and all works created in the course of employment.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 creates several different categories of ‘work’ in which copyright can exist, and different owners or authors of works. The principal categories of protected work are:
- Original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, including photographs.
- Sound recordings, such as tapes, CDs and digital files such as MP3s; films, television and sound broadcasts, and cable programmes.
- The typographical arrangements of published editions.
Owning the copyright in a work gives the owner the exclusive right to:
- Copy the work.
- Issue copies to the public.
- Perform, show or play the work in public.
- Broadcast the work or include it in a cable programme service.
- Make adaptation of the work or do any of the above in relation to an adaptation.
Copyright does not exist in a work until it is recorded in some written or other form. For example, a musical work is not protected until recorded on a digital audio tape or the like. It is generally the reproduction of that form which is restricted. Ideas themselves are not protected and recourse in such cases is made to the developing law of confidence.
The ownership of copyright is distinct from the ownership of the physical record of the work. For instance, a photographer may own the copyright of the artistic work he or she creates, but not the film on which it is recorded. Separate ownership of the physical property can restrict the use of the work. The owner or author of the copyright is normally the creator or creators of it in the case of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work. However, special rules apply in relation to copyright of other works and all works created in the course of employment.
