Client Testimonials
"As patent and trade mark attorneys, we work closely with many different solicitors when helping clients to realize value from their Intellectual Property. The Waterfront partnership, in particular Rachel Bunn and Carole Hailey, has a very client-focused, practical and responsive approach. Their team always provides clear and relevant advice, tailored to the background and needs of the client in question; this combination of qualities sets them apart from many of the large law firms."
Heather McCann, Partner, E-IP
www.e-ip.com
Copyright
Copyright is a right that arises automatically in the UK at no cost to you. It protects the result of creative effort, including but not limited to original text, artwork (including technical drawings), computer programs, photographs, recordings, broadcasts, musical scores and films.
It is possible for the same work to be protected by both copyright and design right.
If work protected by copyright is created by an employee (in the course of employment) then the employer will own the copyright, but in all other circumstances the author of the work will own the copyright. Therefore, if your business uses consultants, it is vital to have consultancy agreements in place to ensure that all copyrights arising from any consultant work is automatically assigned to you.
Even when an employer owns copyright in a work, the employee who created the work will retain any moral rights attaching to the work, unless such moral rights are waived by the employee in their contract of employment.
In general, copyrights in computer generated works, recordings or broadcasts last for 50 years; and copyrights in original text, artwork (including technical drawings), photographs, musical scores and films last for 70 years from the end of the year when the author died. However, depending on the nature of the copyright, if a work has been commercially exploited, copyright could last only 25 years.
Owning copyright in a work allows you to control the right to copy, issue copies to the public, communicate, perform, broadcast or adapt the work. It does not prevent someone else from independently creating the work and commercialising it.
UK copyrighted works are protected in most overseas countries by virtue of international conventions. However, normally you must enforce your copyright in the country in which the copyright infringement occurs.
Copyright can be difficult to enforce because it can be difficult to show (on a balance of probabilities) that your work has been copied. Special considerations apply to software copyright but in general, to maximise your copyright protection, we recommend:
- You use a universal copyright notice on all copyrighted material which makes it clear that you own the copyright and that restricted acts may only be done under licence from you i.e.© [year of creation] [your business name] [all rights reserved]
- You keep records of (i) all original works; (ii) the authors of original works; (iii) the date of creation of original works (ideally such works should be date stamped); (iv) the file history surrounding original works (all prototype drawings/designs etc); and (v) the dates of disclosure of original works to third parties and, if applicable, the general public.
As most businesses are copyright users, the Information Society Copyright Directive (brought into force on 31 October 2003) is likely to impact on you. In particular, certain defences to copyright infringement are no longer applicable. So, for example, where before copying protected works for private research or study was permitted, now it is only possible to reproduce copyright works if it is for non-commercial research purposes, otherwise copyright will be infringed, even if the source is acknowledged. Therefore, more than ever before, businesses must ensure that they are properly licensed to reproduce work by the Copyright Licensing Agency and other similar bodies.