Copyright

In the UK, copyright is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. It gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works — as well as films, broadcasts, sound recordings and published editions — the right to control how their work is copied, shared, adapted and used. Crucially, it arises automatically as soon as an original work is created and recorded; there’s no register to file. If you want to understand or enforce your rights, our team can help – contact us here or give us a call.

Copyright can cover a wide range of original work, including books, articles, poetry, letters, computer code, plays, scripts, choreography, screenplays, musical compositions, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, architecture, works of artistic craftsmanship, sound recordings, films, animations, video clips and the typographical layout of published editions. If your work isn’t obviously on that list and you’re not sure whether copyright applies, speak with one of our copyright solicitors today.

Copyright doesn’t protect ideas or concepts themselves, only the original way they’re expressed and recorded. So it generally won’t cover concepts and ideas, names, titles and short phrases, raw facts and data, mathematical formulae, works that haven’t been fixed in a tangible form, or works already in the public domain. Names and logos are usually better protected as trade marks, and product shapes as designs. If you’re unsure which right fits your work, speak with one of our copyright solicitors today and we’ll point you to the right protection.

It depends on the type of work. In the UK: literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works are protected for 70 years after the creator’s death (from the last surviving creator, where there’s more than one); sound recordings are protected for 70 years from release; films for 70 years after the death of the last of the principal director, screenwriter and composer; broadcasts for 50 years from first transmission; and the typographical layout of a published edition for 25 years from publication. In short, copyright can protect work long after it’s made, so creators and their beneficiaries continue to benefit.

Copyright is often infringed unintentionally. Common examples include: using images found online without a licence or permission; downloading or sharing music, films, books, software or games without authorisation; copying text from books or websites into your own work without a licence or credit; creating and distributing adaptations such as remixes or fan works without consent; and playing or screening copyrighted music or films in public without a licence. Most of this is avoidable with a little forward planning — check whether you need a licence, and use royalty-free or properly licensed material where you can. If your own content is being used without permission, we can help you put a stop to it.

Contact us today to find out how and speak with one of our copyright professionals for more assistance.

Broadly, yes. Under the Berne Convention, which the UK, US and most countries have signed, works created in one member country are automatically protected in the others without needing to register locally. So a work created in the US is protected in the UK to an equivalent standard, and vice versa. If you’re dealing with cross-border use or infringement, we can advise on how protection applies in each territory.

To find out how Panoramix IP can provide you with the best protection for your copyright, whether in the UK, United States and Europe, speak with one of our copyright solicitors for support.

You don’t have to do anything formal – in the UK copyright is automatic the moment you create an original work and record it (write it, save it, record it). There’s no register and no application. To make ownership easy to prove later, keep dated copies and drafts, and mark the work with the © symbol, your name and the year. If you’re licensing or selling the work, that’s where getting the paperwork right really matters, and we can help.

The © symbol, with your name and the year, is a notice that you claim copyright in a work. It isn’t required in the UK — your copyright exists with or without it — but it’s useful: it puts others on notice, can help in international contexts, and makes it harder for someone to claim they copied innocently. It’s good practice on anything you publish.

This catches a lot of businesses out. Work created by an employee in the course of their job is usually owned by the employer automatically. But work created by a freelancer or agency is generally owned by them, not you, unless your contract assigns it across in writing — even though you paid for it. Before you commission logos, code, photography or content, get an assignment in place. We draft and review these routinely.

Copyright protects original creative and written works and arises automatically. A trade mark protects brand identifiers such as names and logos and is strongest once registered. A design right protects how a product looks. They often overlap on a single product, and the smart approach is usually a combination. A short IP audit maps exactly which rights apply to what you’ve created.