Copyright

Copyright may arise in certain types of work, such as literary and artistic works, films, sound recordings and music and computer programs. In particular copyright will only be created if the work is recorded and original. It is important that you are able to recognise when copyright arises to ensure that you own it and are able to use the copyright works how you wish

The advantage with copyright is that it arises automatically and it is an unregistered right. Therefore unlike registered design right and patents you do not have to register it with a body in order to own in and as a result there are no registration costs. Copyright can also exist alongside other IP rights and in particular there is often overlap between copyright and design right thereby offering an owner various means or protection.

The best way to identify your work as copyright protected is to add a copyright symbol © followed by the owner of the copyright and the name and date the copyright work was produced. This is by no means a legal requirement in the United Kingdom but by doing so you will be warning others not to copy your work.

Our team of lawyers has experience in advising on how to ensure you own copyright, in particular where consultants are used, how copyright can be exploited and how to protect it. For further advice in this area please contact the one of our team members.

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