What is Copyright?

• Copyright is a right that arises automatically on the creation of a work. There are a variety of works that are protected by copyright, including: written works (of any kind), digital works, drawings, graphs, paintings, broadcasts, photographs, videos, music, computer software, dramatic works and certain databases.   To the extent that your brand or trade mark is a logo, therefore, it will also be protected by copyright (in addition to registered trade mark protection).

• To get copyright protection, the work must be original and tangible. It is sometimes said that copyright protects the expression of an idea as opposed to the idea itself (although that distinction is sometimes blurred).

• There is no need to register copyright to obtain protection (save for in the US – see [link]). Although copyright is a national right, there are a number of international treaties in place that ensure reciprocal protection of copyright works in most jurisdictions throughout the world.

• In Europe, copyright law is a mix of European Directives which harmonise the law of some aspects of copyright and national law. The result is that protection and enforcement of copyright can differ depending on the particular type of work involved and the particular jurisdiction.

 What does it protect?

• If you are the owner of a copyright work, you can prevent anyone else from copying, adapting, distributing, renting or otherwise dealing with the work – or a “substantial part” of the work. Whether or not a “substantial part” of a work has been copied is judged both on a qualitative and quantitative basis – it is not merely a matter of determining how much has been copied but what has been copied as well.

• As stated above, copyright does not, generally, protect an idea but rather, the expression of that idea. So, a copyright work is (generally speaking) not infringed if someone takes the underlying concept but expresses it in a different way.

Who owns the copyright?

• In the UK, the first owner of copyright is the person who created the work (the author). Copyright is a property right and can be transferred or licensed by way of contract.  If the author is an employee, the law provides that the employer is the first owner of any copyright (in most circumstances).

• However, where the author is one of your contractors or other third party (e.g. a design agency or outsourcing company), the copyright will belong to that third party unless a provision is included your agreement with them which transfers ownership of the copyright to you.

Practical copyright tips

• Since there is no register of copyright works, it is important to maintain evidence, where possible, of the date of creation of the work, the effort that has gone into creating the work and who the owner of the copyright is.
• If you upload copyright works onto the internet be aware that (a) it is extremely easy for that work to be copied and re-distributed and (b) uploading onto certain sites may mean that you can lose control over the copyright work to the host site.  It is important to check terms & conditions of those any sites to which you intend to upload works and that you are comfortable with them.