Rights and Wrongs in the Information Society: Technology Drives Changes to Intellectual Property Law

Are you sure that all the software that your company uses is properly licensed?

Have you sourced software for your company to use but not seen the licence? Have you bought software from an Internet site or from a "fire" or "liquidation" sale but never received any paperwork to accompany it?

Respondents to a recent survey undertaken by FAST (The Federation against Software Theft) estimated that just under half the software used in the UK is pirated.

Do you have the proper authority to use the images and text that appear on your website or in your marketing materials? If not, you are at risk of being pursued for copyright infringement.

The loss of revenue to intellectual property rights owners from unauthorised use of their works has a massive knock on effect for the general economic development of any particular country and region. More importantly, if you are forced to defend copyright infringement litigation, you will find this a hugely expensive exercise both in terms of your management time and legal fees.

The ease and prevalence of digital copying and the communication of such copies to the public by Internet or mobile phone has led to the requirement for enhanced protection for copyright owners. Protection was given to software owners against the circumvention of copy protection built into their programs.1 However, that left the human readable elements of electronic material vulnerable such as text, music, visual effects, etc To address this issue (and to comply with its EU obligations) the UK Government introduced the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 on 31st October 2003.2 These Regulations bring significant amendments to copyright law.3 For many UK commercial organisations these are changes that will impact on the day-to-day conduct of their business.

New Communication Rights.

This is the right of artists, photographers, authors, songwriters and performers of both musical or dramatic works (as well as record and film producers and broadcasters) to control the communication of their copyright works to the public by electronic transmission (including Internet access, broadcast transmission and access by mobile phone). It is now a criminal offence to knowingly make a protected work available either on a commercial scale or "to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright". This could now enable criminal prosecution against individuals who file share and those who distribute pirated electronic...