Why does copyright affect me

The EU right is broader in scope but only lasts for three years. Under the UK right, protection lasts for the lesser of 15 years from first recording or ten years from first marketing. It is possible to protect sensitive business information through rights in confidential information which covers know-how and trade secrets.

Although not strictly IP rights, they can protect sensitive information both technical and commercial and do not need to be registered. To be enforceable, the information must satisfy three tests:. Call us on: 60 95 Get in touch In need of legal advice? Nature of enquiry Personal Legal Services Business legal services. X Close. Avoids infringing the IP rights of other people and businesses. What is intellectual property? Types of intellectual property rights IP rights fall into two general categories: Registered rights.

They include: patents; trade marks; and registered designs. These arise automatically, give protection against copying or using the right, and include: copyright; unregistered trade marks; unregistered design rights; and confidential information.

Patents Patents provide inventors with a legally protectable monopoly over their inventions and protect new and inventive technical features of products and processes.

To qualify for patent protection, an invention must: be new; involve an inventive step; be capable of industrial application; and not be specifically excluded from protection for example, methods of doing business. Trade marks A trade mark is a sign or symbol used by a trader to distinguish its products or services from those of other traders.

For example: a brand name; a company logo; or packaging. To be registrable, a trade mark must be: capable of being represented graphically; distinctive; capable of distinguishing goods or services; and not excluded by law.

It requires: proof of a reputation in the mark; a misrepresentation that could mislead the public; and proof of damage for example, financial loss or damage to goodwill. Copyright Copyright protects original artistic, musical, dramatic and literary works including computer programs , sound recordings, films, broadcasts and typographical arrangements of published works.

Ownership of copyright in a work will allow the owner to prevent unauthorised use of the work, such as: the making of copies; or issuing copies to the public.

This article is more than 24 months old and is now archived. This article has not been updated to reflect any changes to the law. Copyright is relevant to more than authors, artists, musicians and other creative people. The commercial world relies on material which is protected by copyright. For example, on most days in most offices people are creating copyright protected material.

By the way, Cleardocs has successfully protected its copyright several times — and received substantial amounts of money in compensation. Copyright is a type of intellectual property which can be bought or sold just like any other property. The word "copyright" refers to a bundle of exclusive rights in certain works and materials.

If anybody other than the copyright owner does any of these things without the consent of the copyright owner, then the other person has infringed the owner's copyright. Because copyright is intangible, it is more easily "damaged" or lost etc. This could happen if a competitor obtained a valuable document, which it modified and used, without the organisation being aware this has occurred.

The result is that an organisation is unaware of the copyright material it owns. Worse still, an organisation may be unaware when someone else perhaps an ex employee starts using the organisation's copyright material. A person who infringes copyright can be liable to compensate the copyright owner for its loss, or to account to the owner for the profit they have made from the wrongful use of the material.

The rights covered by copyright are automatically created as soon as the relevant work is created. There is no registration system for copyright. Copyright is owned independently of a physical item in which the right is embodied or reproduced. For example, if you buy a book the physical item you are not buying the copyright in the literary work. As the owner of the book, your rights do not extend beyond reading the book or perhaps using it as a door stop. Although copyright arises automatically, it is a good idea to put a copyright notice on the important material that your business creates.

Although this is not strictly necessary for copyright protection to be obtained, it may:. Copyright is usually owned by the creator of the relevant work. Probably the most important exception to this is where material is created by an employee in the course of their employment. In that case, copyright will usually be owned by the employer. However, it is prudent to include a provision about copyright ownership in employment contracts of key employees. Toggle menu visibility. Ask Another Question.

Answered By: Colin Magee. Last Updated: Jan 15, Views: Toggle action bar FAQ Actions. Print Tweet Share on Facebook Was this helpful? Comments 1. Add a public comment to this FAQ Entry.