A Closer Look at...Copyright

Posted on 20 October 2020

As George R. R. Martin’ s character Jojen Reed reminds us:

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

So, how do we live a thousand lifetimes? Read books, contemplate paintings, watch plays, listen to songs, watch how the heart functions more clearly using images written in software code, communicate with family and friends across the chasms of Covid-19 using software products developed by amazing geeks. These creations enrich our world and experiences in it, and take work and effort to create.

Copyright protects the original expression of creations such as these. Copyright protects:

• literary works
• dramatic works
• musical works
• artistic works

as well as films, sound recordings, broadcasts, layouts, typographical arrangements and software.

Copyright arises automatically upon creation of a work. It can be registered in some countries, although not in the UK.

Copyright gives the creator, or his employer, of an original work the exclusive rights to economic benefit of that work, usually for a limited time, in other words to receive compensation for the work if it is used by others.

• Reproduction – i.e. copying
• Distribution - such as a book being sold in a bookshop.
• Rental and lending – renting a picture for your wall
• Public performance – such as performing a play
• Communication to the public – such as putting a work on the internet
• Adaptation – such as making a film of a book, or converting code to a different computer language

It also provides protection for moral rights for literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and film, as well as some performances relating to:

• The right to attribution
• The right to object to derogatory treatment of a work
• The right to object to false attribution
• The right to privacy of certain photographs and films

Copyright does not protect inventions or ideas. Whilst the duration of copyright can vary country to country, in some it can last for the lifetime of the author, plus seventy years.

It is important to keep records of

1. the date of creation,
2. who created it, and,
3. the terms under which the copyright is created e.g. under an employment contract, or under a commission, and the terms of that commission.

There are some organisations such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and, in the UK, the commercial organisation Anti Copying in Design (ACID) that allow you to date-stamp or store your original work to provide evidence of original dates. Notably, these do not help prove who created it, simply that it was in the possession of the submitter on such and such a date. See links below.

There are many sound commercial reasons to look to copyright as a means of protecting works created in business – amply laid out by yet another excellent interactive infographic from the 4ip Council. See Link below.

As we all pivot, in how we live and work, to cope with ever changing restrictions, those creatives amongst us, from inspirational artists and musicians to computer experts who write code, are more important than ever and deserve protection for their creations. Winter may be coming but spring will soon follow.

4ipCouncil 4-reasons-4-copyright https://www.4ipcouncil.com/4smes/4-reasons-4-copyright

WIPO PROOF: https://www.wipo.int/wipoproof/en/

ACID IP Databank: https://www.acid.uk.com/copyright-design-databank/

Posted under:

#IPStrategy

#patentattorney

copyright

IP