The Basics Of Copyright Law

It is essential for brand owners to understand the basic rules relating to copyrights. In this podcast, Meite Xin introduces you to some basic copyright concepts, including copyright subsistence, the ownership of copyright, the existence and international protection of copyright, the infringement of copyright and the limits to the scope of copyright law.

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Hi everyone, I'm Meite Xin, an associate in the Gowling WLG Intellectual Property team. This podcast will introduce you to some basic copyright concepts, including copyright subsistence, the ownership of copyright, the existence and international protection of copyright, the infringement of copyright and the limits to the scope of copyright law.

First, let's have a quick look at what is copyright and how does copyright subsist?

Copyright is:

A property right which subsists in original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works as provided for by the Copyright, designs and Patents Act 1988 (the CDPA Act). It is an automatic right and arises whenever an individual or company creates a work. It is entirely separate from property rights in the work itself as an object. It is perfectly possible for one person to own a painting and for another person to own the right to copy the painting. Originality is a relatively easy test which can be easily satisfied - the work in question need not be unique in any way. 'Original' means that the author must have created the work through his or her own skill, judgment and individual effort and that it is not copied from other works. There are, however, other types of copyright work - film, sound recordings and broadcasts - which need not be original - for instance, repeat broadcasts each attract their own copyright. Names, titles, short phrases and colours are not generally considered unique or substantial enough to be covered, but a creation, such as a logo, that combines these elements may be. It is generally a right of the author (i.e. the creator) of the work. This is reasonably obvious in relation to written, artistic or musical works although it becomes less clear in relation to films, sound recordings or television broadcasts. As a general rule the work qualifies for protection by copyright if the author was at the material time a British citizen or domiciled in the UK; or if a company incorporated in the UK; or if the work was first published in the UK. Why it is important to identify the author...