Back to Basics: What is Copyright?

5 Feb

desk with magnifying glass and cards showing words relating to intellectual property

Copyright is recognised the world over as one of the principal intellectual property rights protected by law.

The main source of English copyright law is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or CDPA, but the UK is also a party to various international copyright conventions – probably most significantly the Berne Convention – and in addition was, until relatively recently, subject to the jurisprudence of the European Union, from which many of the principles or rules of copyright law have derived.

The primary objective of copyright is to safeguard creators of original content – once it takes on a tangible form – from unauthorised copying or reproduction of that content, or using the content in a protected way, without the approval of the copyright owner.

Copyright protects a wide range of original and tangible works, including literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, sound recordings, film and typographical arrangements of published editions.

To be deemed “original”, a work must result from personal effort or intellectual creativity, rather than merely mimicking another's work.

In order to be “tangible”, the particular idea must be expressed physically – such as writing a manuscript or screenplay or a musical score, or creating or capturing a static or moving image, or recording a performance – rather than remaining a mere mental concept. In other words, ideas cannot be copyrighted.

Facts cannot be copyrighted, and neither can ideas. A simple illustration of the distinction would be a film screenplay which is based on historical facts. On that basis alone, the screenplay will be original and will not infringe any protected right. If that screenplay is based on a particular newspaper story, say, or a specific treatment of those historical facts, then the story itself may be protected.

The protections afforded by copyright last, in the UK (and in the US), for the life of the author plus 70 years, so a pretty long time. Once that expires, though, the work enters what is known as the public domain; it is unprotected and is free for use by the world. This means that if someone is using an original work as the basis for their own project, that person will need to consider whether the original is sell protected by copyright.

piece of paper in a typewriter showing the word copyright

In England and Wales, copyright protection vests automatically upon the creation of the particular work; unlike some other jurisdictions and unlike in respect of certain other intellectual property rights such as trademarks and patents, registration unnecessary for the purposes of attracting protection.

The legal protection afforded to creators with regard to their content is enforceable in the sense that if protected material is used in an improper or unauthorised way, the courts will provide remedies to the innocent party.

Finally…

Copyright can be dealt with, or traded, like any proprietary right; it can be sold (assigned) or licensed. This means that if someone wants to buy, or use, your copyrighted material, or you want to buy or use theirs, a deal should be agreed.

For creators, producers and businesses, understanding the scope of copyright protection is a key part of the advice provided by specialist media and entertainment lawyers when developing and exploiting creative works.

So, creators, copyright is key! Understand it and use it if necessary to protect your content!.