What is copyright and how is it govered by UK law?
Copyright is part of a wider set of intellectual property rights which offer protection and certain rights to the owner (or owners) of a piece of work. For example copyright laws usually grant the creator or owner of a work the exclusive right to reproduce that work or create associated works. In the UK the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) defines copyright as: “&a property right which subsists in accordance with this Part in the following descriptions of work – (a) original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, (b) sound recordings, films, or broadcasts, and (c) the typographical arrangement of published editions.” Examples of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works include books, plays, songs and photographs. There are three tests that you can apply to any work to determine if it is subject to copyright. These include: • it must be original • it must be fixed (important in electronic environment) (i.e. exist in a material form – whether that is on pa
Related Questions
- How do the differences in copyright law among the different nations in the UK, and different countries in Europe, affect the AHDS? Do we need to know in detail about all of these copyright laws?
- Should librarians and information professionals be content with current UK copyright law?
- What are the copyright laws in the UK regarding parody?
